Can't Help Falling in Love with You
by Rise of the Blossom
Summary: Collection of one-shots that are not related with one another. Still accepting prompts and requests! Make sure you read the beginning of the one-shot for the rating, as they all vary.
1. Story 1: Elope

**A/N – This is a collection of one-shots that are not related with one another (unless I post at the very start of them that they are, which is a slim possibility depending on whether or not somebody requests sequel one shots). I'm still accepting requests, so if you have any, share them!**

* * *

 **Can't Help Falling in Love with You**

* * *

 **Story 1  
** **Prompt: Elope. Requested by Ukatoemina. This is set in the olden times, like Madara/Hashirama times and the villages haven't been created yet. However, those two seriously overpowered guys are not alive in this one-shot.  
Rating: T**

Fallen cherry blossom petals danced in the wind, entertaining him and Itachi smiled softly, his hand reaching out and catching one of them. Softness met his fingertips.

It was fairly late at night and the stars were out, shining brightly and accompanying the moon in lighting the otherwise dark sky. The temperature had dropped considerably during the hour he'd been out there, making goosebumps break out over his exposed skin, yet strangely enough, the cold air of spring didn't affect him. He simply couldn't feel it.

Following the dance of the petals, his eyes slowly began to lower, only to meet awed emerald green eyes.

They were the greenest he'd ever seen, reminding him of freshly cut spring grass – new, alive, reborn – and her hair resembled the petals he'd been reaching out to. Briefly, he wondered if it would feel as soft if he ran his fingers through her hair. Would it feel like the petals?

Abruptly, their gazes locked and she startled, the awe leaving her features and leaving her pale and vulnerable.

He offered her a smile. "Are you here to watch the cherry blossoms?"

She was dressed in a plain, neutrally coloured yukata and he found himself admiring the cut of it and how it covered her. Nowadays, girls as young as herself enjoyed dressing in more revealing clothing, much to the elders' horror and mortification. This girl, however, seemed to respect the traditional side of things and was keeping her modesty. It was a choice nowadays and he respected her greatly for not following the other women her age.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your evening," she replied quietly.

Her voice was gentle, with a tender lilt that felt like heaven to his ears. "You haven't," he assured. "May I ask your name?"

"Haruno Sakura."

Sakura… It fit her perfectly.

He had heard of the Haruno clan, though only vaguely. They were mainly a civilian clan, however, there were a few who had joined the world of shinobi. It wasn't by choice and those who joined, did it solely because they had to be able to protect their families. There had to be warriors in a clan in order to make sure it survived. A clan could not be weak, or else it would be torn apart by the stronger clans.

"And yours?"

"Uchiha Itachi," came his reply.

Something flitted over her features: uncertainty. It did not surprise him. His clan was notorious as of late for the way they tackled their problems. They fought hard for land, for new territory and more often than not, they managed to claim that ground. The only clan who could stand against them, who could fight toe to toe and have as many wins as they did losses, was the Senju clan.

However, he was not like his clansmen. He was his own man and refused to follow their barbaric ways.

"You're the clan heir," Sakura stated.

And as soon as he stepped up to patriarch, he would make sure they never used such unethical methods in getting what they wanted.

"I am."

In an instant, Sakura ducked her head and her pastel pink hair fell forward, shielding her eyes. "Forgive me," she said, her voice a low murmur. Then, she repeated her earlier words of, "I didn't mean to interrupt your evening."

She was leaving, he realised and in that moment, something tugged at him, forcing him to order, "Stay."

Wary green eyes met his and Itachi found the sight of her softened frown quite… adorable.

"Will you accompany me in watching the cherry blossoms?"

Her lips parted, surprised.

But she did not leave.

She stayed.

* * *

"I don't agree with their methods," confessed Itachi one day. "There are ways to negotiate without resorting to violence. Too many lives have been lost – and for what? We could have avoided the deaths of many. There are other ways."

It was a bright and sunny day. Today, she was wearing a different yukata and the colour matched her eyes, standing out sharply against her pale skin. The parts of her skin that was exposed – for example, her forearms – were flawless. There were no scars. No blemishes. Just pale, stunning skin.

Today would be the seventh time they had met in what he now dubbed as 'their field'. They were getting further into spring now and the temperature was rising rapidly. Still, even when the sun bore down on them and smothered them in its brilliant heat, Itachi refused to move from their field. It was almost as breath taking as she was. What man would want to deprive himself of such beauty?

In the sunlight, faint freckles showed themselves, dashed over the tops of her cheeks and nose and her eyes shone in such a wonderful way when the light caught them.

"I agree," she told him. None of the previous hesitancy revealed itself anymore, not now that they were getting to know one another. "My father is starting to believe that we have to fight to protect what is ours."

Sometimes, Itachi would catch himself hanging on to her every word, listening intently to the soft lilt in her voice. He would be concentrating so hard on her voice that he almost forgot to reply on several occasions, but she never made him feel ashamed about how helpless he was acting around her. Instead, she would smile shyly and brush her hair behind her ear – an endearing habit, in his eyes.

It was by the fourth meeting that Itachi accepted he was falling head over heels for the woman sitting beside him.

In his entire life, there had only been a handful of people he was capable of feeling comfortable around, that he could open up to and share his thoughts with. Now, including Sakura, there were only two people that he held dear left.

"I lost my cousin because of the wars between clans."

Sakura gasped in response, soon followed by the puckering of her brow as she frowned at him delicately. "I'm so sorry."

As was he. He and Shisui had been the best of friends. They had rarely left one another's side and Itachi had always thought of him as a brother rather than a cousin or a friend. So when his best friend, his brother, had died in his arms after taking a fatal hit out on the battlefield, it had devastated him. For months, Itachi had been unable to talk to anyone. He hadn't been able to eat or sleep.

What was the point in their battles? Why must they lose their precious people for something as superficial as territory? Who cared about appearing as the most powerful clan?

"What was he like?" Sakura asked softly and she scooted closer to him, eyes betraying her curiosity.

"First and foremost, he was a pacifist," Itachi found himself telling her with a wistful smile. "Peaceful and a disliking for violence, but still, he was forced to fight merely because he was a powerful asset for the clan. Had he refused, Shisui would have been cast out and disowned."

That was the worst thing to happen to a person – losing their clan. It left them with nowhere to go, with no one to turn to. They would be isolated out in the big world, with an enemy lurking around every corner and clan followers waiting to strike, to punish that person for being disowned. It was a fight for survival every single day, one you would eventually lose.

And it appeared Sakura understood that, because a troubled expression marred her stunning features and Itachi wanted to reach out and smooth the crease between her eyebrows, to run his thumb over her lips to try and remove the frown that was pulling the corners downwards.

Had he known what she was thinking, would he have put a stop to their meetings?

* * *

Today, she was wearing a red qipao instead of a yukata. Despite the unbelievably beautiful sight she made, however, there was something in her eyes that shattered that spectacle. Something in her bright green eyes betrayed how she was feeling on the inside. Whenever he tried to ask, however, Sakura would tell him that she was fine, merely feeling under the weather.

That particular meeting was much shorter than the rest and she didn't stay long enough for him to go out and hunt for food to make for them. It was a shame. He'd been planning on cooking dinner for them, to try and feel a shred of normalcy. If she was ill, then he would make her something to feel better. He would make sure she was eating enough and keeping up her strength.

But before he could so much as suggest the idea, Sakura had realised the time and excused herself, rushing off as fast as a civilian could run.

And when she left him so abruptly, he felt lost.

* * *

The next time, Itachi made sure to be the first one there.

It had been hard sneaking away from his clan, as they were busy preparing to take over yet another patch of land they could live without, but he managed it. All he'd had to do was wait until their guards were down, which didn't take too long.

Waiting had never bothered him before, but he found himself anxiously waiting for her return to their field, his senses stretched to their limits to try and sense her presence.

Blades of grass blew in the wind, brushing against him as he sat down in their familiar spot beneath a large, cherry tree. It gave them a splendid view of the field, allowing them to witness nature at its finest, while also offering a spot of shade should they need it. The blossoms above them offered up a wonderful smell that aided in relaxing them both.

It wasn't until two hours and forty-five minutes later that she showed.

Fatigued and on the verge of collapsing, he met her halfway, eyes wide in shock as he caught her. She was breathing hard, her breath fanning across his neck and faintly, she shook, like she was fighting back the urge to cough harshly.

"Sakura-san?"

It took her a while to reply, to raise her head and give him that smile that warmed his insides, telling him not to worry. "It was hard… getting away."

He understood. It would be harder for a civilian to run away when their clansmen's guards were down. For a moment, he felt guilt. Thick, unadulterated guilt for making her go to such lengths so that they'd be able to spend time together, but she didn't allow him to voice any of it.

"I have water," he told her and reached behind himself, pulling his canteen free.

Holding the back of her head tenderly (and marvelling at the fact that her hair _was_ as soft as the cherry blossom petals), Itachi pressed the canteen to her lips, silently ordering her to drink up. It was only after a brief moment of hesitation that she did so, greedily guzzling the water down in such a way that it might him chuckle.

When she was done, he finally dared to reach out, wiping away the water that had dribbled down her chin. Her lips were soft, too, and they parted when his thumb brushed against them.

Such beauty… it was hard to imagine that it still existed in their world, and that he'd been lucky enough to find it.

* * *

Itachi smiled softly. "I will return to you."

There was no hesitation when she reached out, tugging at his battle armour to make sure it was all secure. It amused him, since she wouldn't know anything about it or how it was put together. Civilians usually steered clear of anything that involved shinobi.

And then her forehead pressed to his chest, hands holding onto his hips. "Please be careful."

Despite not wanting to be a part of it, it was impossible to find any excuses not to accompany his clan when they set out for another battle. Not only that, but he knew that his brother would be fighting, too, and Itachi would rather fight by his side than let him go out there alone. Nobody else would look out for him in the way that he himself would.

His brother was reckless, in a way.

"I will," Itachi vowed. His hand came to the back of her head, fingers gently running through her hair. It still stunned him how soft it felt – almost like silk.

There was no telling how long he would be away, though. It could be days, or it could be weeks. It could even be months. Would she wait for him? Would his dear Sakura still come to their field, waiting for his return? Or would she give up after a few months?

"Wait for me."

The words had her pulling back a few inches, staring up at him with wide eyes and Itachi knew why. It was such a bold order, it held so many different meanings, but for now, he would not share any of them. They would remain unsaid until his return.

He could only hope that she would still be there, waiting for him.

* * *

It had taken seven months.

All the while, his heart had been elsewhere, mind occupied with pastel shades of pink, with fresh green grass and silk soft petals. Even while in battle, he found himself unable to focus entirely on the task at hand, only half-heartedly joining his clansmen in their battle for more territory. The only times he was fully alert was when his brother was fighting.

His foolish younger brother had sustained many injuries, but much to his overwhelming relief, they had walked side by side when they returned home.

The first thing Itachi had done was clean himself up, wanting to be at his very best for his Sakura. His heart and stomach were in fits as he tried to hold back his excitement of seeing her again, after so many months of being away, but like on that last meeting, Itachi couldn't help but listen to that small, nagging paranoia.

 _What if she had given up waiting for him?_

 _What if she had moved on?_

While his clansmen were busy celebrating their umpteenth victory, Itachi slipped away into the trees, almost rushing toward the field he shared with Sakura.

But something was not right.

Pausing in entering their field, Itachi narrowed his eyes, stretching out his senses. A second later and his gaze was snapping to the far left of the field when a quiet sob reached his ears. It was so quiet that he had to strain to hear it, but the second he did, he knew who it was and his gut immediately twisted sharply.

Who had dared to upset her?

Was it him?

Was she worried he wasn't coming back?

He searched her out, finding her in mere seconds and Itachi couldn't help the way his gaze darkened. Why was Sakura curled in on herself? Why was she crying?

Why was her beautiful, once flawless face bruised horrifically?

"Sakura."

She sniffed loudly, wiping at her eyes. Weakly, she attempted to hide her face with her hair, unaware that he had already seen the bruises. When their eyes met, she tried her best to smile, but he could see right through it and for some reason that he could not explain, it hurt that she would attempt to hide such a thing from him.

"Welcome home," she greeted as cheerily as possible.

"What happened?"

It wasn't a question that she had the choice of answering. It was an order and he was demanding a response. Something flashed in her bloodshot eye (the other was hidden beneath her thick hair) before her expression crumbled to utter helplessness.

"I'm getting married to the son of our rival clan," she murmured brokenly, voice wavering. "The wedding is next week."

Suddenly, it felt as though the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders and Itachi's legs gave out on him. He slowly fell to his knees in front of her, understanding instantly why she was so bruised.

"You refused."

Fresh tears filled her eyes, brightening the colour. "How can I marry a man I hold no feelings for, when I'm already in love with another?"

In love with another…

They had only met seventeen times before his departure. It couldn't be him she was in love with. Someone as delicate as his Sakura would be in love with a man who could promise her the world and then fulfil that promise. She deserved a man who could give her everything and anything, who could deliver all her desires without flinching.

He was not that kind of man. He couldn't promise her the stars, not when he could only give her flowers. He couldn't promise her a life of happiness and safety, not when he was the heir to one of the most violent clans who had many enemies.

"Itachi-san," she called out softly, "do you believe in love at first sight?"

Love at first sight… It sounded like something out of a fairy tale. People like himself – shinobi – did not get to live lives such as those, at most they got a powerful wife and she would give him powerful children. You were one of the lucky ones if you were in love with the person your parents chose for you to marry.

Despite those thoughts, Itachi replayed their very first meeting over and over again, recalling how her beauty had instantly captured his attention. By the end of the second meeting, her grace and tenderness had gripped its hooks into him. By the end of the third meeting, he began witnessing her personality and found himself…

Found himself falling more and more in love with her.

"You were so gentle and careful," Sakura continued quietly. "When you were reaching out for the blossom petals – I've never seen such grace, such tenderness. It stirred up a longing within me, Itachi-san." Her gaze was powerful and it drew him in. He was unable to break it. "I wished to know what it would be like to be touched in such a way, to experience being cherished."

A soft smile pulled at the corner of his lips, tugging upwards. Then, like her words had been a silent demand, Itachi reached out for her, cupping her cheek and his thumb gently wiped away the remains of her tears. In response, her eyes shut and Sakura leaned into his touch. Soon his other hand joined the first until he released a shaky breath and leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers, eyes slipping shut.

"Nii-san!"

Their eyes shot open and Itachi was certain he was experiencing the same horror as Sakura was. Within a second, he turned, keeping her shielded behind him and his eyes narrowing warily at the sight of his younger brother.

"Sasuke."

"I followed you," he explained without the order needing to be said. Hesitantly, he stepped forward, but quickly stopped at the glare that was settled on him. "Our parents are suspicious about your actions, Itachi."

Small hands gripped his waist and he felt Sakura press her forehead to his back, hiding herself more fully.

They couldn't find out about her. As a non-Uchiha, she would immediately be scorned. They would never accept her as his wife, let alone the future matriarch. Worst case scenario… They would see her as a potential threat, as a wall, and would kill her to get her out of their way.

"You… I didn't think you would be doing this." Disbelief was clear in Sasuke's voice and his younger brother swallowed, hands falling to his sides. "Why?"

Itachi was unable to reply. His voice was stuck in his throat.

Many different responses were trying to escape. Because she was pure. Because she reminded him of spring, when new life was born and everything was fresh and beautiful. Because she understood his pacific nature. Because her smile sent his heart beating erratically.

Suddenly, Sasuke looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowing dangerously until they snapped back to his. There was determination on his features and his brother's next words had his heart skipping a few beats, had his breath leaving him.

"They're coming. Run." His fists clenched. "Keep running and I'll hold them off."

He was giving him a way out.

"Sasuke…" Slowly, he and Sakura pulled themselves to their feet. "Thank you."

He smirked. "Maybe I will finally be good enough for him."

His chest clenched tightly and once again, indecision rippled through him. How could he leave his younger brother alone? There were only two precious people left in his life and he was one of them.

"Go!" he snarled.

"I will come back for you," he vowed and his hand grabbed Sakura's. "Do not fight back, Sasuke. They will believe I overpowered you and ran – let them believe that and as soon as I find an opening, I will come for you."

He nodded once, already turning to face the newcomers. "I know."

* * *

It was mad. Completely and utterly insane. Yet here they stood, side by side in front of a minister, repeating powerful vows that would legally bind them as husband and wife. It was without the consent of their family members, meaning without their blessing, but neither of them cared for such a thing. All they wanted was to be together, even if others didn't agree with their decisions, even if it seemed like it was all too soon.

Their fingers laced and she met his gaze with a gentle smile.

"I do," she whispered.

They both knew what it would mean if they went through with their plans. To disobey their clans was one thing, but to elope… It was the ultimate betrayal. There would be no going back.

Still, despite that fact, Itachi found himself feeling lighter than ever as he stared down at his beautiful bride, as he watched the happiness in her eyes grow.

It had been three days since they disobeyed their clans and ran away. For the first day, they had hidden deep within a cave, only searching for food once it was dark and they could stay hidden in the wilderness. The whole experience had adrenaline shooting down his spine, had him almost grinning with exhilaration. Who would have thought that he, the supposedly perfect heir to the Uchiha clan, would do something so spontaneous?

He gazed at his bride with tenderness as he repeated, "I do."

Spontaneous. Reckless. Possibly the greatest mistake of his life. Yet there he stood, with his stomach flipping and his heart skipping beats, now married to the woman he had fallen in love with when he first saw her through the cherry blossoms. No more fighting for territory. No more bloodshed and violence.

Their next goal would be to set up a safe house, somewhere for them to live without fear of being hunted down.

After that, they would go for Sasuke.

Until then, he would cherish his wife with every fibre of his being.

His beautiful cherry blossom.

His Sakura.

* * *

 **A/N – I feel like this could have been drawn out and made into a much longer story, but I've always thought that one shots should probably be kept under five thousand words, maybe even less than three thousand. I've always found that reading one shots with over five thousand words is draining, like there's way too much going on. It's partly why I wanted to keep this short. Saying that, I have quite a few of them that go over five thousand...**

 **I'm not sure with the way this ended and one day, I'll probably come back and rewrite it, but I hope you enjoyed it,** **Ukatoemina!**


	2. Story 2: Mirror

**Story 2  
Prompt: From behind, mirror and plenty of fluffiness – Requested by somebodylost-chan and DarkSecretKeeper  
Rating: M. PWP.**

* * *

"Tadaima," she called out, heart in her throat.

The responding call of " _Okaerinasai_ _"_ had her smiling brightly, had her hold on the grocery bags tightening and that giddiness exploded to new heights when her husband stepped out of the living room to greet her.

"You're home," she breathed.

He smiled softly, eyes warm with tenderness. "My wife was expecting me."

A soft blush swept over her cheeks and she returned the smile when he took the bags out of her arms, taking them into the kitchen. Even though she was physically stronger, he never allowed her to do anything he believed to be unnecessary with him around. Even after being married for two years and together for three, it still felt strange being treated so highly, almost like she was royalty.

"How did it go, Itachi?" she asked, following him. "Were there any complications?"

"No," came his reply. He couldn't go into details, she figured. "How has work been at the hospital?"

Sakura sighed at that. "Aggravating. How hard is it to book appointments? The new part-time receptionist keeps double booking, so we're rushed off our feet!"

Itachi placed the bags down onto the counter and turned to face her, only needing to wait a second until she joined him, arms wrapping around his waist and head on his chest. Oh, how she'd missed his scent, his warmth, his hugs. It was exactly what she needed after a stressful day.

"I missed you, Sakura."

She smiled into his chest. "I missed you, too." Pulling back, but certainly not away, she asked him, "Would you like anything to eat? Or would you like me to run you a bath?"

There was a deep sigh and his arms flexed around her, bringing her closer once more. "For now, I would like to be with my wife."

The smile slipped into a smirk. "A bath it is, then."

He chuckled at that and her amusement grew when he decided to play along, trying to remain serious. "I suppose that is not out of the question."

It was almost like a game to them now. Since everyone always believed Itachi to be so stiff and without emotion, like he was born an old man and grew even older as the years went by, they decided to go along with it for their own amusement. That way, when they saw him acting his own age one day, they'd be completely thrown off and confused. They'd done it a handful of times to Ino already, who certainly wasn't happy with them for it – after all, mental games were _her_ thing.

At home, however, their masks always gave way to their amusement. Either she would smirk or laugh or giggle and as soon as she did, Itachi's composure would crumble along with hers.

Hands slipping down his arms, once she reached his hands, their fingers laced and she pulled gently, guiding him towards the stairs and at the top of them, they were immediately greeted by the bathroom.

"How did you know I was home?" Itachi asked softly, one hand coming free of hers to snake around her waist.

Sakura smiled knowingly and tapped her nose. "Female intuition."

He deadpanned.

Oh, they had had _that_ conversation many times in the past three years. Itachi strongly believed that there was no such thing as female intuition and that everything she felt, was simply gut instinct, which was something they all experienced. She would always argue that the two couldn't be compared. Sure, there were a couple of comparisons, but they were huge details and it was the minor details that counted.

He sighed in resignation and she grinned, knowing that Itachi wouldn't have wanted to get into it tonight, not when he'd just returned from a lengthy mission.

That mission…

This time, it was Sakura who sighed and she finally released her husband, going about running the bath and filling it with a special crème Ino had suggested she tried out. It relaxed aching muscles and smelled divine. From what she could already smell of it, she knew that her best friend was not lying.

It was horrible being separated when one or both of them had missions, because Sakura knew that one day, one of them wouldn't return. Itachi had the deadlier missions, the lengthier ones that required him to fight with his all and she found herself waiting up at night most of the time, waiting on that messenger to summon her to the Hokage's office.

She honestly didn't know what she would ever do without him.

Once the water was running hot and the bath began to fill, Sakura joined her husband once more, though smiled softly when his hand cupped her cheek, tilting her head back. That was something that never failed to capture her attention: Itachi enjoyed watching her expressions. He often told her that she was like an open book to him.

"I'm home."

Yes, he was. "I'm glad."

"As am I," he replied easily. The hand on her face slipped further back, running through her hair and Itachi smiled gently as he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. "How about that bath?"

It was barely even filled a third of the way, but she nodded anyway, breathing turning shaky when his lips made their way down to her own, leaving butterfly kisses along the way. The kiss placed on her lips was most definitely not a butterfly kiss, however and her heart warmed, very much like her stomach, as his lips moved insistently against hers, telling her without words how much he had missed her.

Sakura did her best to get her emotions across, too, fingers playing with the loose hair at the nape of his neck.

It wasn't long until he was helping her undress, movements agonisingly teasing as he took his time, allowing each article of clothing to slowly make its way to the tiled flooring. Since he was playing that game, Sakura decided she would as well and she allowed her fingers to dance across his abdomen, teasing the muscles and watching them tense before she left a lingering touch as she slid his pants down.

Reluctantly, however, she eventually had to pull away to check on the bath. It was half full now and Sakura knew that their combined weight would fill it the rest of the way – well, perhaps not all the way to the top, but enough to make it so they didn't have to wait any longer.

Itachi caught on and got in first while she switched the water off and when Sakura climbed in, she sat down with her back to his chest. Leaning back, she breathed out a sigh, smiling softly to herself as he began cleaning her with the sponge, though the strokes were far too gentle to be a serious clean. More like caresses.

All of her previous troubles faded away as Itachi cleaned her body, especially when he soon released the sponge and his hand stroked across her stomach, slowly and sensually making its way up until he was cupping her breasts.

Sakura sighed once again, though this time with pleasure and she shuffled further back against him, head falling to his shoulder and she smiled at the tender kiss pressed to the side of her head.

So that Itachi wasn't the one doing all the work – because if he had his way, then she wouldn't ever have to lift a finger and that definitely wasn't okay with her – she turned around and grabbed the sponge, lying on top of him as she began cleaning him in the same way he had her.

Oh, she was so glad to have her husband home, back where he belonged. Life with him gone was dull and it felt hollow, like a huge part of her was missing in his absence. When he left, he took so much with him, including her heart and she longed for his return, to make her feel complete again.

Forgetting about the sponge altogether she leaned forward, embracing him just as he reached for her, lips meeting in a kiss that had her toes curling and eyes slipping shut. Her legs shifted around him, attempting to straddle him, but Sakura growled in annoyance as she realised that the bath was too small for that kind of thing.

"Bedroom," she murmured between kisses, hand coming to the back of his neck to bring him closer.

Itachi smirked. "That impatient, are we?"

"It's been months," came her simple reply.

He must have agreed, must have felt the same sudden urgency as herself, because before Sakura even realised what was happening, they were standing and his hands were grabbing her thighs, lifting and urging them to wrap around his waist.

His speed no longer stunned her, so she felt no shock as they fell back against soft, plush bedding, practically sinking into the mattress. Itachi followed closely, his body pushing hers further into the bed. Sakura could feel his reaction to her actions and body, could feel how ready he was, but she could also tell that he was holding back and part of her longed for him to get a little rough with her, to pin her down.

"Itachi…"

The sound of the plea in her voice had him breaking the kiss, eyes languidly meeting hers. "What is it?"

"I can't wait any longer," she whispered breathlessly, hips rolling against his to prove her need. " _Gods_ , I just want to feel you inside me again."

Dirty talk surprisingly never failed to break his composure. Well, when there was barely anything left of it, it did.

Within a few seconds, her legs were bending, knees almost to her chest and Itachi was yanking her hips closer to his, more than likely knowingly making her insides clench unbearably when he bit his lip while entering her, like the pleasure he was experiencing was like no other.

Sakura threw her head back when he was fully inside of her, hips bucking involuntarily. He'd always been a master at reading her, so Itachi wasted no time in started a ruthless rhythm. It had her body jerking with each thrust, going further and further up the bed until his hands came down above her shoulders, keeping her in place.

However, there was always one thing she'd wanted to try and considering that it was their first time together in months, they wouldn't last too long…

Sitting up by using his body as something to cling to, Sakura grazed her lips over his earlobe, knowing that it was a weakness of his. "From behind, Itachi," she moaned into his ear, breath hitching at a particularly rough thrust.

They had always experimented in the bedroom. Not always, of course, but once they'd grown comfortable with one another and had opened up about their curiosities and secret turn-ons, they began exploring new ways to pleasure one another. That was why it wasn't strange when Itachi nodded quickly against her shoulder, pulling out and allowing her to turn around. As soon as she shuffled further across the bed, he climbed on, kneeling down behind her.

That was when he must have caught on, because she could hear the smirk in his voice as he murmured, "It must have been a long few months, Sakura."

Her eyes glanced sideways, taking in their reflection. It was arousing to say the least and there was no stopping the wanton moan that escaped her as he entered her roughly, picking up his previous pace. This time, his hands were on her hips, holding her with an almost bruising force and she could see from his reflection that his jaw was clenched, his expression almost one of concentration.

The mirror was atop her dressing table, which had coincidentally been moved almost strategically in front of the bed. It had been during one of the rougher days when Sakura had moved it, turned on by just the mere thought of having sex with her husband in front of it. Oh, the wait for his return had been agonising.

But now here they were.

Her arms gave out on her, upper body falling to the bed, but Itachi surprised her by snaking an arm around her chest, hand gripping her shoulder and bringing her body up against his. She could feel each and every one of his muscles against her back.

"I thought you wanted to watch us, Sakura?" he breathed, lips against her ear.

Taking her by surprise, he bit her, but not too roughly that it hurt, before turning them so that she was facing the mirror fully, eyes widening at the sight of them joined so intimately.

Itachi's hand drifted upwards, wrapped softly around her throat. The other was still in place on her hip, holding her still as he continued to thrust into her.

They had only tried light choking once before and Sakura hadn't felt too much about it other than shock when he first did it. Now… Now that she was watching the erotic sight it made, she was unable to stop from squirming against her husband, moaning brokenly into the hot air around them.

"Open your eyes, Sakura," he ordered when she shut them. "Look at us."

Oh, Gods… She couldn't. She wasn't going to last-

Her breathing hitched the second he released her hip and reached for the button within her folds. "I-I'm…"

The grasp he had on her throat tightened, stunning her with the fact that it added to her pleasure as she writhed against his hard body. They were slick with sweat, with the added dampness from their bath together and she could see through the reflection that her hair was sticking to his chest and neck.

Green eyes squeezed shut and she bit her lip, hips bucking and grinding backwards into him.

She could tell he'd joined her in orgasm because Itachi's arms came around her, breathing harsh in her ear but Sakura knew she was no different as she tried to catch her breath.

"Wow…"

He smirked tiredly, their eyes locking via the mirror. The hooded, glazed pleasure in his eyes never failed to turn her on even further.

Itachi kissed her shoulder chastely.

She was so glad her husband was home.

* * *

 **A/N - It's a bit short, but I guess for a PWP, it's an okay-ish length, right? I'm still experimenting with all this, so please bear with me!**


	3. Story 3: Competition

**Story 3  
** **Prompt: "Competition. Itachi vs Neji." Requested by Rizu Hatake Hime.  
Rating: T**

* * *

As always, the date was pleasant and he found himself smiling minutely when he walked her to her door. The smile, without fail, always widened when he would look down at her and see stunningly green eyes already gazing at him. Then, she would smile shyly and avert her eyes, brushing her hair behind her ear nervously.

A less polite part of himself wanted to reach out and take over, to feel the softness of her pastel pink hair and feel the strands slipping through his fingers, but Itachi repeatedly shut those thoughts down. Not only was it improper, it was also much too soon to be touching her and expecting her to accept his touches.

He was, after all, in the very early stages of courting Haruno Sakura.

For the longest time he had admired her, even back when she was first placed onto his brother's team. Despite being weak, pitiful and a cry-baby, there was still a fiery determination within her and a strong will that couldn't be broken. Her loyalty was fierce both to her friends and her village and that was something Itachi admired greatly.

Then, as he witnessed her growing up, as he witnessed her becoming a woman, he began to admire her in different ways. The way her eyes sparkled with happiness, or the way her entire face lit up when somebody she respected recognised her hard work, or the way…

Honestly, he could go on forever.

It was only two months ago that Itachi finally approached Sakura, asking to court her. At first she had been unsure and wasn't certain of her feelings at all. She asked that he gave her some time, which was understandable considering her age. There was still so much that she had yet to learn about herself before getting tied down.

So while it was their eighth date, they were still taking things slowly.

Itachi made sure to be the perfect gentleman for her, using all knowledge his mother had bestowed upon him. Holding doors open, pulling out chairs, paying for their dates, walking her to and from work, or walking her home after their dates and also making sure to have actually made plans instead of saying something along the lines of, "I don't know, it's up to you" or, "whatever you want to do". Apparently women absolutely hated when a man said that to them – or so his mother had told him.

The clan accepted his choice of courting Sakura, also. Though it was partly due to them being eager to see what would happen if they mixed their genes, Itachi knew that his parents merely wanted him to be happy. The elders would have rather Sasuke been the one to experiment, but it no longer mattered. He knew for a fact that his feelings for Haruno Sakura were serious and he could genuinely see them settling down with one another.

Perhaps starting a family of their own was a short way off, but it wasn't so far away that Itachi was unable to see that kind of future for them. Saying that, it would probably take a while to open Sakura up to the idea of having a family, having children more specifically. She was still young.

The evening air was chilly as Itachi returned to his home. Despite being slightly cold, he found himself fighting back his need to smile. Yes, they were still in the early stages of dating and yes, it was much too soon to say that he had won over her heart, however, having Sakura merely giving him the time of day made him happier than he ever would have imagined.

Unfortunately, not everybody agreed with his choice, so while Itachi was happy and doing his best to keep Sakura happy, and while his clan and parents were happy _for_ him… Well, Sasuke made his disliking of their growing relationship obvious. In his eyes, she was his teammate, therefore, she was off limits, though that confused Itachi greatly.

He had offered – had actually said to him – that if Sasuke wanted Sakura and was serious about wanting her, then he would back off. At the end of the day, that was his little brother and more than anything, Itachi wanted him to be happy. But Sasuke had told him, plain and simple, that he didn't care for her and that Sakura was annoying.

What was the fuss about, then? Why was he trying to drag them down and why couldn't he be happy for them?

Even Shisui was uncertain about their relationship, warning Itachi not to get in too deep until Sakura figured out her own feelings and what she wanted. That was understandable and he was actually grateful that Shisui stated the facts instead of sulking around like Sasuke currently was. Once it was said, it was over and done with.

She hadn't really told him how she felt recently and he was in no rush to push her into making a decision. Either way, it was going to change his life. They were either going to be together or they weren't and while Itachi was playing it off, he did wish that it'd turn out to be the former. Parting ways now simply seemed… Not exactly impossible, but it caused an ache in his chest.

Maybe Shisui was right?

Maybe he was getting in way over his head?

Sliding the door to his home open, Itachi breathed out a sigh and allowed a small smile to play along his lips as the warmth greeted him. It didn't matter if he was or not, because Sakura was definitely worth the risk of being hurt.

" _Itachi?"_

The sound of his father's voice broke him out of his love-stricken mind and brought him back down to earth. Since he could sense that there was no one else around, Itachi could only guess that his father had been waiting for his return, already knowing that he would be out on a date. Fugaku didn't usually ask how their dates went, though he did ask every now and then how things were going.

"Father," he greeted in return once entering the kitchen. Itachi wondered where his mother was, since there was freshly brewed tea sitting in the centre of the table, along with two cups.

"How did it go?"

There was a short pause as he sat down opposite his father. Knowing that he wasn't asking how the date went and more about Sakura's feelings and whether or not they'd changed, Itachi replied, "Well." Another pause. "She seemed happy."

At his father's insistence, he poured himself a cup of tea and sat back comfortably. Nowadays, most families sat at tables that had chairs like in restaurants and tea shops, but his family decided to remain traditional.

After a single sip, he spoke.

"Listen, Itachi." Fugaku's eyes narrowed fractionally. "The Hyuuga Clan are looking to add an outside addition to their clan – an experiment to see how it will affect their genes. It is something that has never been done before."

Oh? Why did that concern him? Another sip. "I see."

The patriarch sighed. "As it is an experiment, they are using a member from the branch family."

That made sense.

"Hyuuga Hiashi and the elders of his clan have spent many hours overlooking possible candidates for the role, dwindling the list to a few names." Their gazes locked and in that moment, Itachi realised how deadly serious his father was. It only made his next words sound even worse. "The number one candidate that they wish to bring into their clan is none other than Haruno Sakura."

The grip on his cup tightened considerably and the fine china began to crack. It took a great amount of will power to place the cup down before it shattered altogether and Itachi applauded himself on the fact that that was the only outward reaction he showed, as he could feel an intense anger burning hotly in his stomach.

After all, the Hyuuga clan stopped at nothing to get what they wanted.

"Who?"

Fugaku sighed, shutting his eyes and folding his arms over his chest. "Hyuuga Neji."

Oh, it was a good thing he had put the cup down. Beneath the table, his fists clenched to the point where he could feel his short nails biting into his skin and it took everything within himself not to allow his Sharingan to activate.

Even if Neji didn't wholeheartedly agree with the decision, he would do anything his uncle and the clan elders asked of him. If it was the clan's wishes to experiment with their genes, then he would not give up until their curiosity was sated. Even if that meant marrying Sakura and having children with her.

"Itachi." His eyes met his father's. "Since your relationship with Haruno is still uncertain, they will use that to their advantage," Fugaku warned him. His gaze was bored, languid, but Itachi knew how deeply his father despised the Hyuuga clan's elders and patriarch. "I know it is your wish to not pressure Haruno, but if you take too long, you will lose her."

Itachi's eyes narrowed fractionally. "You are underestimating Sakura-san, Father." His clenched fists tightened impossibly. "What makes you so sure that she will end things with me, to be with Neji-san?"

"She is young and you still don't know how she feels, Itachi," he responded calmly, patiently.

"Then I will find out."

"And your original plan?"

The original plan… It had been to give Sakura as much time as she needed to figure out her own feelings, but now that time had been cut to an unknown amount. What kind of tactics would the Hyuuga clan use? Would they involve the Hokage?

Itachi had been given the choice of making his courting Sakura more political – an idea from one of the elders. That way, there was less chance of rejection. No, there would be zero chance of a rejection, because it would be nothing more than an arranged marriage. Not wanting it to be that way, to be forced and fake, however, he had asked his clan to stay out of their relationship.

But would Neji say the same thing? Would he feel the same way?

He was willing to bet everything that the answer was no.

"The original plan stands," Itachi replied.

"And Hyuuga?"

A small smirk lifted the corner of his lips and at his next words, Fugaku returned the smirk. "Shinobi never fight fair, Father."

* * *

Every time Hyuuga Neji simply _looked_ in Sakura's direction, Itachi sabotaged the moment. Childish, yet effective. From a child mysteriously falling and scraping their knee, to an old woman being unable to move from crippling back pain, to Sakura's teammates turning up and stealing her away, to _Itachi_ turning up and stealing her away and now finally, to the Hokage demanding Sakura's presence because out of the blue, her team had a mission.

How would he ask her if he could court her, if Sakura was always too busy to talk?

Yes, it was sly and yes, it made him quite a stalker, but Itachi wasn't going to risk anything coming between him and Sakura. If the Hyuuga clan was going to take advantage of Sakura's uncertainty, then he would make sure they never got the chance to and he didn't care how blatantly obvious it all was.

* * *

It had been a month and Hyuuga Neji had yet to back off.

Itachi couldn't even deny that he was beginning to lose his patience.

Deep down, of course he'd known it wasn't as simple as sabotaging those 'moments' between Hyuuga and Sakura, however, Itachi had continuously told himself that soon enough, she would have figured out her feelings and then they could have stopped that foolish and childish game.

He sighed and glanced at the post. Embedded deeply into the wood were several kunai and shuriken and as per usual, his target practice was perfect. Not a single one of them was out of place.

He wished feelings and relationships were as simple as target practice.

Then again…

Taking a half step back, Itachi's dark eyes swirled into the design of the Sharingan as he glanced to the right. The training grounds were empty other than himself, so it wasn't exactly difficult to pick up on another's presence, no matter how well they hid themselves and seeing that they had captured his attention, the person left the cover of the trees.

"Hyuuga-san," Itachi greeted coolly, whirling the kunai around his index finger. "What brings you here?"

Perhaps those things could be made simple if he treated his supposed competition as his target practice.

Inwardly, he smirked. How tempting that thought was.

"You already know why I am here," Neji stated. "I have come to warn you to step down, Uchiha."

"Is that so?" The kunai finally stopped, now held securely in his grasp and Itachi threw it at the post without looking, unsurprised when he heard the satisfying thud of it embedding the wood. He had yet to miss a target. "And if I refuse?"

He watched as Neji's pale eyes narrowed, as veins began showing around them, telling Itachi that he had activated his Byakugan. "It would not be in your best interest."

"Best interest," he repeated as though he was testing the words on his tongue. "It seems you have underestimated my feelings for Sakura-san, Hyuuga-san and should you try to take her from me, I will not be against putting you back in your place. It would be in _your_ best interest not to underestimate the feelings, or love, of an Uchiha."

"Just as you should not underestimate my loyalty for my clan."

It didn't matter how hard he fought not to show a reaction, because the narrowing of his eyes said it all and a moment later, Itachi gave up with fighting his emotions. Turning fully to face the Hyuuga, he showed his displeasure willingly, muttering, "Which is why I will not allow you to court Sakura-san. It is purely for the benefit of your clan and not because you hold any feelings for her."

He was getting angry. They both were and Itachi knew full well that it was heading straight towards a battle. Usually, being the pacifist that he was, he only fought when a battle was unavoidable, but right at that moment in time, he was getting more riled up as time ticked by.

Sakura did not deserve to be tied down to a clan that didn't necessarily care about her, that was simply wanting to use her as their broodmare. She deserved to be worshipped and cherished, to be adored and cared for, though not coddled or babied. Being married into the Hyuuga Clan would leave her bound and unable to do anything – hell, they could even attempt to brand her just like every other branch member (as she would be marrying into the branch family).

Sure, she did not possess the Byakugan, but she would learn their secrets and by branding her with that cursed seal, they would make it impossible for her to reveal them. That or she would be treated like a total outsider. On top of that, her techniques and jutsu would belong solely to the Hyuuga Clan.

Just like she would.

That could not happen.

As though reading his thoughts, Neji's eyes narrowed and he fell into the classic Hyuuga fighting stance. That was his main problem, really. His jutsu relied heavily on the combat being close range, however, Itachi's did not. He could fight in any range and while close was preferable, he was not against putting distance between them and using his jutsu.

The Byakugan was powerful, yes, but it only aided in showing Neji of any surprise attacks and the chakra pathways. It didn't actually predict attacks, like the Sharingan did. That was one flaw.

Another was that Itachi knew of his attacks and knew that using any weapons would be a waste of time, as Neji would simply use Hakkeshō Kaiten to deflect them. He was curious, however, to how it would fair against his fire style. The jutsu was entirely made up of chakra, but the wind that was picked up would surely fan the flames and cause them to expand.

"Why do you fight so hard for a girl who can't decide on her feelings?" Neji questioned.

One more thing he knew about Hyuuga Neji: he enjoyed playing mind games with his opponents.

Wasn't it a shame for him that Itachi was a master at – what Sasuke dubbed as – mind-fuckery?

"You may seem calm, but I can tell you are frustrated," continued Neji. "You want answers-"

"You are beginning to bore me, Hyuuga-san. Surely, you of all people must know that tactic does not work on me. I am not your submissive cousin."

Rage had Neji's eyes narrowing further. "You-"

"I will say this once, Hyuuga-san, so you had better listen because I will not repeat myself: back down, or else I will not hold back."

The only answer he received was the Hyuuga darting forward, almost lunging at him and Itachi made sure to leap backwards in order to create more distance. Should they fight in close range, Neji would have the upper-hand, as just one hit would make him unable to use his chakra. If that happened, the battle would be over before it even began.

Raising his hand into a single seal, Itachi summoned a small amount of chakra – he didn't want to kill that brat, after all. Instead-

Suddenly, the ground was splitting, forcing them to separate even further and both his own and Neji's eyes shot to the edge of the clearing, where an angered, panting Sakura was standing, fist clenched and prepared to do more than simply destroy the training grounds.

"What the hell…" She struggled to catch her breath. "What are you both playing at?"

"Sakura," came the Hyuuga's reply and it irked Itachi that he used her given name without any honorifics.

"How did you find us?" he asked. The battle hadn't even started.

"I could smell the testosterone," she snapped. Realising he didn't buy it, she then said, "I saw Neji-san coming towards the training grounds and I know this is where you train at this time of morning, Itachi-san."

Smart. Yet another example of how she wasn't just another pretty face.

Long, pastel pink hair skimmed the base of her spine, blowing gently in the breeze and vaguely, he wondered what made her grow it out, since short and spiky hair had been something she was known for – it signified that she'd put her old, superficial self behind her. She'd grown a lot since those days, though, he supposed. Matured, even.

Sighing, Itachi relaxed his stance, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Neji did the same. Sakura did not, however. Instead she continued to glare at them both, green eyes hard and fierce. By her sides, her fists were clenched.

What a magnificent sight she made. Unfairly beautiful.

"So are either of you going to answer?" demanded Sakura. "What the hell is going on?"

Still, her stance was that of somebody who was on edge, who was preparing to attack should they answer incorrectly. Had Uzumaki Naruto been around, he would have been paling and gulping nervously, as he was usually the one on the receiving end of her anger.

"Uchiha-san has been interfering."

Confusion had her straightening up, had her frowning over at them. "Interfering with what?"

Did she really have no idea what had been going on?

"I wished to speak with you." Neji turned to face her fully.

When he didn't continue, Sakura lost her patience, demanding, "About?"

"Hyuuga-san wishes to court you, Sakura-san," Itachi answered for him, ignoring the harsh glare sent his way by Neji. "His clan is looking to experiment with their genes."

Realisation had her fists clenching once more. "You want me to be a _broodmare?"_

Oh, her voice had gone up a few octaves. That couldn't be a good sign. He wondered if there was something he should do to try and calm the situation, but then again, they were finally getting somewhere.

"Understand that we could be making history," he assured smoothly. "We could change the ways of my clan." After only a fraction of a second pause, he stepped closer and Itachi wondered what expression he would be making, since his back was now to him. "People could marry outside of the clan."

"People like Hinata," she murmured.

Itachi's eyes snapped to hers. She wasn't buying that, was she?

"Exactly," Neji replied. "Hinata-sama wishes to marry Naruto, but do you think that will be allowed? The elders wish to find out what would happen if we were to mix our genes with a non-Hyuuga. If it works, they would allow-"

"Stop," Sakura whispered. Slowly, she stood up straight and rubbed her arm restlessly. He'd noticed that it was a nervous tick of hers. "You can't pin that kind of thing on me."

"Can't I?" he questioned. "Sometimes we must make sacrifices so that those we care for can be happy."

After a moment, green eyes slid to his and he pretended not to notice the hesitancy in her stare. "And you kept intervening?" A single nod. "Why?"

"At first it was because I did not want to lose you," Itachi answered honestly. "However, after a while, it was more because I didn't want you to be stuck in a loveless marriage, where you would be treated as nothing but a broodmare. You deserve much better than that."

Pain flitted over her features, stunning him. "You don't… trust my feelings."

Could she really blame him for that? While Sakura always seemed like an open book in regards to her emotions… She was completely different when it came to her heart. For some reason, she was always hesitant when it involved him and it stung, if he was being completely honest.

"You idiot," she muttered and shook her head.

Idiot?

What-

"I'd never accept a proposal like that – not even if it was ordered of me," Sakura confessed softly. "Not only that, but I'd never accept it when… When I'm already falling in love with another."

His heart damn near stopped.

"You never…"

She smiled at that. A wide, carefree smile that lit up her entire face. "I wanted to make sure that you weren't doing it for your clan. That your own feelings were true."

Numbly, Itachi managed to say, "Your acting skills are much better than I anticipated."

The smile widened.

Forgetting about the perplexed Hyuuga standing between them, he made his way over to her and returned the smile with a small one of his own, holding out his arm. "Are you hungry?"

Without pause, Sakura slipped her arm through his. "Starving."

"There is a new tea shop not too far from here. I believe you will enjoy it…"

* * *

 **A/N - How did you know that that was where he trained in the mornings, Sakura? Looks like Itachi wasn't the only one doing a bit of stalking ;-)**

 **So I'm back at university and work now, which is the reason behind the slow updates. Please be patient! I'm doing my best to balance it all out so that none of it becomes too much for me.**


	4. Story 4: Vampire

**Story 4**

 **Prompt: "Vampire Sakura" – somebodylost-chan  
Rating: M**

* * *

It started as glimpses, as nothing more than a flash of pastel pink hair within crowds of people, or stunningly green eyes peering at him between the gaps of the bookcases in the library. That lasted for around two months and for a while, he'd assumed he was going insane. Working too many hours and going off about three to four hours of sleep a night.

The first time he truly saw her – all of her – was a memory that would forever be scorched into his mind. It had been a troublesome shift which almost ended in his death after a fatal shooting. His partner was dead before he even hit the cold ground of the forest, but fate hadn't been so kind to himself, for he was left to suffer as he slowly bled out onto the dead leaves and frosted soil. They'd been on a wild goose chase, one where they were led into a forest to confront a man who'd murdered his family.

That was when she finally approached him in all her ethereal beauty. Every step, even kneeling in his blood, was painfully graceful, her features forming a delicate frown as her fingers tenderly brushed the hair from his face.

He awoke a week later in the hospital. According to his doctor he'd been brought in by a woman who didn't linger. The police were searching for her so that they could question her about what happened, while his family wanted to thank the woman for saving him. He… wished to thank her also. But nobody could find her.

Time went on and for a while, he didn't see her anywhere other than his dreams. Sometimes, he would wake up to the scent of the perfume she'd been wearing that night and he was certain that out of the corner of his eye, he saw that strange pastel pink hair. Did he have a stalker?

It wasn't long after his twenty-fourth birthday that he saw her again. At the age of twenty-four, he finally moved out of his parents' home, ready to move on after recovering, after all that had happened. At the time, he'd thought that it was fate to have bumped into the woman in the hallway, finding out that she lived opposite him, no less.

" _Hi, you must be my new neighbour. I'm Sakura,"_ she'd said warmly.

Being the overly formal man that he was, he'd held out his hand to shake hers and regretted it instantly. " _Itachi."_

While her voice and eyes had been warm, her hand had not. In fact, it was almost ice cold. Like the bodies in the morgue they often had to examine as part of their case. It was impossible, though. Sakura didn't look cold and she certainly didn't look dead! Perhaps she simply suffered from bad blood circulation, or even Raynaud's disease.

Of course, Itachi had asked her about the shooting and why she didn't wait to be questioned by the police, but to that, she had frowned prettily and tilted her head to the side, asking with a laugh, " _What are you talking about? I had no reason to be out in that forest – I hate the outdoors!"_

Had he imagined it? Had he imagined her being there and somehow got himself to the road, where a different woman found him? A perfect stranger who didn't stick around due to not wanting to be caught up in a mess such as that? But, why wouldn't they? Itachi would have been able to tell the others his story about who really shot him… unless he didn't wake up.

After that, seeing Sakura in the hallway became a part of his daily routine. It grew to a point where _not_ seeing her brought forth a surge of anxiety. Was she okay? Was she ill? Did she need anything? Should he check on her? Itachi had seen enough crimes to expect the worst for a woman as beautiful as her. Not only that, but she was so small, too. It looked as though it wouldn't take much to break her in half.

Eventually, they grew comfortable enough for her to walk in and out of his apartment, though for some reason, he never felt comfortable walking into hers without an invitation. Sakura would bring him groceries and sometimes even join him for dinner if he had the night off. They would talk until the early hours of the morning. It felt like she truly listened to everything he had to say, like she genuinely cared to hear his views and opinions.

One day, however, he noticed something about her. She was weary. Weak. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, staining her once flawless face and she appeared more pale than usual. It frightened him, in all honesty.

Itachi did what he could for her, bringing her to his apartment after finding her collapsed in the hallway. He cooked, he aided her in whatever she needed, but it never seemed to be enough – she never got better. Sakura's health was deteriorating quickly. When it got to the stage where she couldn't even walk up a flight of stairs, Itachi tried to talk her into going to the hospital (or at least have a doctor come to them), but again, it got him nowhere. All she told him was that denying herself was killing her.

It wasn't until after he came to the conclusion that she was anaemic that he found out what she was. After researching her symptoms (yes, he knew it was foolish to search them online, but he was grasping at straws at that point) online, Itachi had demanded to know what her blood type was before stealing donated blood from the hospital. It wasn't his finest hour and he felt ashamed of himself, but it was for the woman he'd grown to care for.

He had been planning on using an IV, however, the moment he pierced that packet of blood it… It was like a different side of Sakura revealed itself. A starved, crazed look entered her eyes, her features contorted to the point she almost looked deranged, snatching the blood out of his hands and…

And she drank it.

The horror he felt didn't last long. Once she was done – and it only took her seconds to drain the packet – Sakura had collapsed in a heap of useless limbs, looking pained and lost.

He now understood what she meant by denying herself – denying what she was, was killing her. She was killing herself.

But what she…

It just wasn't possible for her…

"Why?"

Blood stained her lips as she smiled and Itachi noticed that more life was in her eyes. "Because I fell in love."

It didn't take a genius to know she was talking about him.

"Sakura-"

"Spare me the lecture," she grumbled and gripped at his sofa, dragging herself onto it. Out of instinct, Itachi tried to help, but the look she settled on him had him freezing in his spot. She no longer appeared as delicate as she once had. "Believe it or not, I'm older than I look." She smiled bitterly. "Much older."

That was something he'd always noticed about her, though. For a woman who appeared so young, she had the mind of an old woman, just as he had the mind of an old man.

With only a moment of hesitation, Itachi sat down beside her, his eyes glued to her features. He refused to so much as think a word as ridiculous as… "Whenever I caught glimpses of you… they weren't by chance."

"No."

"Why?"

"You…" Turning her head to the side, their eyes met, apple green clashing with charcoal and he swallowed when her hand slowly came to his chest, resting over his heart. "Your heart is beating so fast," murmured Sakura. "Do I scare you?"

Of course not! She was… In some ways, she was still the woman he'd gotten to know. "No."

The hand dropped away from his chest the same time as their eyes disconnected, hers falling to her hand. "You stood out. It's as though your blood called to me and I just couldn't leave you alone."

From then on, he was only sucked further in.

* * *

"I had a family," she whispered brokenly one evening. "Children."

Children? Was that even possible in her… condition? "How…?"

"I didn't give birth to them, but I gave them new life. They were _my_ babies." Breathing out a harsh sigh, she looked away, her eyes glaring at a wall. "But they were taken from me. I was dying… Another of my kind attacked while I was at my weakest and my babies acted on instinct, some defending me against the vampire and the others dragging me to safety." Tears filled her eyes, her bottom lip trembling. "I… fed on them. My own blood lingered in their bodies, making them what they were and-"

It sounded like the worst thing a mother could experience. Shifting in his seat, Itachi hesitantly put his arm around her shoulders, bringing her close, but it seemed to only upset her further, for a deafening wail of agonising loss erupted from her.

"I wasn't at full strength, but I took down the man who took my babies from me. It was a gamble that I'd hoped to lose. My need for revenge powered me through it, however." Sighing, she met his eyes. "So I wandered for what felt like an eternity."

"You ran."

Sakura huffed with dry amusement and nodded. "I suppose I did, but can you really blame me?" Silently, he shook his head. It was a pain he had no hopes in understanding. "I was lonely and surrounded myself with my children, raising them as my own." Another bittersweet smile. "I didn't realise it at the time, but I was growing weaker. I was more concerned with sating their thirsts and keeping them out of the spotlight rather than my own thirst and by the time we were attacked, I was starving."

"Like the state you were in last week." She nodded. "Why would you allow yourself to get into that state again?"

There was a hopeless look on Sakura's face when their eyes met again, her green eyes lighting up with a sad smile. "I'm not good enough for you being what I am."

* * *

"You're getting weak again."

Somewhere within the past three weeks, Sakura had moved into his apartment. For the first few days, they'd been hesitant and Itachi never knew whether it was appropriate or even wise to try and touch her. Not when her thirst was getting so out of control.

Perhaps out of control was the wrong phrase to use. However, while she wasn't sneaking out in the middle of the night and sating her thirst, it was obvious that Sakura was in pain and feeling the effects of starving herself. It seemed her kind starved much faster than humans, for once again, her movements had become lethargic, her eyes heavy and she was considerably weaker.

Green eyes drifted to his, attempting to match the smile she sent his way. "It's a good thing you're so pretty."

He frowned. "Sakura, you need to eat – or drink."

"I'm fine," she lied. "I have more life-"

The way she suddenly swayed in her place had him reaching out and steadying her. "Come, Sakura. You need to sit."

She didn't argue with him. Instead, Sakura allowed him to lead her over to his sofa, sitting them both down. Even then, however, he didn't let her go.

"It doesn't seem like you have much life left."

Despite hardly knowing her, it still caused an ache in his heart when she didn't respond.

* * *

It was a last resort.

Had he not wanted to face up to his feelings, Itachi would have used the excuse that Sakura had saved his life once before – she had finally admitted to it just the other night after his umpteenth time of questioning her.

Warily, green eyes met his. By now the once stunning shade was dull and lifeless, her skin was paler than ever and she had to lean against something even when sitting down to support herself. Watching her waste away right before his eyes was agonising, causing a deep pain in his heart. Perhaps that was what happened when you started to fall in love with another.

"You don't have to do this."

Despite her words, he saw the way her throat tightened, saw her swallow hard and her pupils dilate in anticipation.

He offered a smile.

Yes, he could have used the excuse of her saving his life once before, but that would have been a lie. Itachi was doing this because he was falling in love with her.

"I'm not going to let you die."

Tears filled her eyes at that, lips turning downwards and weakly, she reached out to him, her dainty, freezing hand cupping his cheek. Due to her lack of strength, Itachi took it upon himself to lean down, to press his lips to hers in a chaste kiss that conveyed everything she was trying to tell him and more.

"Feed yourself, Sakura," he almost begged. "Please don't starve yourself."

There was no way to prepare himself for the pain of her teeth suddenly sinking into his neck.

* * *

She refused to take more than the bare minimum, even if it meant she was just strong enough to live. Although it was painful for her to pull away, she somehow managed to. The first time, Sakura had literally had to shove him away from her to stop the frenzy that had begun at the taste of his blood.

Itachi couldn't find the words to describe the excruciating pain of having his blood sucked out of him, however, it strangely felt as though it brought them closer together. Like they were bonding. What made him happier was that he was the _only_ one she was feeding on. No innocent people were dying.

Continuing to steal donated blood was extremely risky, especially with the added CCTV and security. It never did her any good, anyway. There wasn't enough to make a difference and he wasn't comfortable with taking pints of the stuff, as somebody could need it one day.

"If we keep this up, you're going to die."

Laying down onto the bed, he stared at the beautiful sight she made. Sitting on his window ledge, with the windows flung outwards and allowing a gentle breeze into the room, she looked unreal as the moon bathed her in its light.

"If we don't continue, you'll die," he retorted calmly.

Chin in her hand, she tilted her head to the side, hair shifting out of her eyes as she regarded him. "There is a way… that we could be together."

Yes, there was and it had gone through his mind many times. It kept him up at night, regardless of how weak he was from having his blood drained. If he allowed her to do what he knew she wanted to do, then they would never have to worry about leaving one another again. At the same time, however, he didn't know if he would be able to kill somebody in order to survive.

He knew that way of thinking would change after the transition. Itachi had seen the switch in Sakura's personality at the mere scent of blood and it seemed only her love for him was capable of breaking the trance. Obviously, he would not be in love with the person he was murdering, so would he be able to stop himself?

The gracefulness had returned not long after she began drinking his blood and it showed in the way she rose to her feet, almost drifting over to him until Sakura sat beside him on the bed. Dressed in nothing but a slip and him in sweatpants, it probably looked like they were an average couple, but that was far from the truth. She refused to be with him in such an intimate way due to not having any confidence in her restraint. Apparently being with a human that way…

Well, it never ended well for the human.

"You already know how I feel," she murmured softly to him, her small hand coming to rest on his chest, over his heart. It was something she did often – like his beating heart comforted her. "I believe with all my heart that there is only one true love for every person and I know that you're my true love. I've never… had such powerful feelings for another person."

Itachi placed his hand over hers. The coldness of her skin still startled him. "And you know that I feel the same way, but you also know my conflicted feelings about what you are. It leaves us at a stalemate."

She smiled sadly, eyes dropping to their joined hands.

* * *

"Sakura, please-"

She shook her head stubbornly, jaw clenched and eyes shut tightly. It was taking all her restraint to refuse his offer. "Stop it, Itachi."

Another week had gone by since their admission to the impasse and nothing at all had changed – well, one thing had changed: Sakura was no longer drinking his blood. The other morning he'd awoken feeling incredibly lightheaded and it caused a slight incident during a shift. Somehow, she knew that, and it was like he could _feel_ the guilt consuming her.

But… she needed to feed.

She couldn't die. It just couldn't happen.

It was with that thought that he bit down on his lip, piercing the skin and her sudden reaction no longer startled him like it had the first few times. Sakura's head snapped to the side, eyes wide as the pupils dilated and her lips parted, breath leaving her harshly.

And then she surprised him completely by stumbling away from him, not sparing another glance as she threw herself out the window, making his heart skip a beat out of pure fear.

By the time he reached the window and looked out at the street, trying to spot her, Sakura was long gone.

And he'd never felt lonelier in his entire life.

* * *

"You shouldn't have done that."

He sat up in his bed. For the past three hours, he'd attempted falling asleep, but it escaped him.

Sakura was standing by the window he'd left open and while part of Itachi wanted to know how she managed to climb back up when he lived on the ninth floor, he knew not to question her at that moment in time. She was angry with him and it was understandable.

"Do you know how close I came-" She cut herself off, glaring at him angrily. "I could have killed you."

"Did you feed?"

The silence was his only answer.

The grace in her movements, the way she seemed to float over to him rather than walk, and the sheer strength emanating from her, told him that it wasn't only the bare minimum, either. It told him that Sakura had fed until she was completely full and… Itachi didn't know how to feel about it.

"Don't ever do that again," Sakura said seriously as she stood over him. "Ever."

"Sakura-"

But she silenced him by moving too quickly for him to keep up with, straddling him and pressing a single finger to his chest, pinning him to the bed. It astounded him. Was this her true strength? Was this how strong she was when she was full?

"I am not going to lose you," she stated simply, finger continuing to keep him down. "I _can't_ lose you, Itachi, especially not by my own hand. It'll destroy me."

The weight of her words hit him at full force and he could hear the desperation she was fighting against. He could tell that she was holding herself back.

"I can't force you into making a decision as huge as this," Sakura whispered and released her hold on him, instead settling on resting her hand over his heart. "But just know… You'll never regret it. I'll make sure to make every day happy for us! I'll-"

His hands came to her sides. "Do it."

Wide green eyes met his. "W-What?"

He couldn't help but smile despite the nervous way his heart was skipping beats. "Change me, Sakura."

* * *

It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before.

The act itself was breath taking, it was almost unbearable. Unlike his previous encounters, every sensation was heightened, to the point where it was bordering on painful.

She kissed him with the force to bruise his lips, but it was never unwanted or discouraged. The hold she had on him, nails biting into his chest and walls fluttering around his length, grasping him like a vice, was unimaginably wonderful, leaving him gripping at her hips, had his head falling back against the pillows and mouth falling open.

He was only barely able to return her desperate kiss, far too preoccupied with the insistent pace she'd set. Hand coming to the back of her head and fisting in her hair, Itachi panted against her lips, eyebrows knitting together as he tried to focus hard on not finishing before her.

He needn't have worried.

Sakura had told him what to expect when she started his change, however, it still pushed back his fast-approaching climax when she reached for the knife beside his bed and turned it on herself, cutting herself deeply. She didn't even flinch, like she didn't feel it. Then again, she'd changed many children in the past and would know what to expect.

As for himself, Itachi couldn't help but hesitate at the sight of her blood oozing from the wound above her left breast and it was only when she lowered herself to him once more that he did as she ordered, pressing his lips against the deep cut.

It… oddly didn't taste as bad as he'd assumed.

"Yes, like that," she murmured and sat back, hands cradling his head as Itachi grew more demanding in his drinking of her blood, as he became overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope of sensations. "Welcome to your new life, Itachi."

* * *

 **A/N - Since it's Halloween, I picked out this prompt since I thought it would be appropriate! Bit different from the vampires in Setting Sun, since they don't bleed and they change people by biting them, but I wanted it to be different. Hope you all enjoyed either way!**


	5. Story 5: A Lord and His Servant

**Story 5**

 **Prompt: "Ancient Japan. Kimonos and yukatas. Itachi is a lord and Sakura is his servant." – Requested by Kawaii-Sally (Warning: I may have played with the prompt a little after watching a certain anime and read the manga)  
Rating: K+**

* * *

They were in the dead of winter when they came across him. Travelling in such conditions never truly effected either of them – being what they were, it wasn't supposed to.

After all, she was dead and he was a God.

How did she die? Well, Shinki weren't supposed to know such things. Her master knew how. Whatever it was, was enough to make him protective of her. She supposed it was a freak accident, or a horrific murder, by purely going off the fears that accompanied her into the life of his Shinki.

When one was new to such a life, however, they experienced everything as though they were still alive simply because it was an instinctual reaction. It had taken her… a century, maybe? To realise that after death, one didn't actually feel all the things the living did and when it slowly began to dawn on them, they lashed out both in fear and shock. It was a horrible notion.

So far, she was the only Shinki her master owned and it had been that way for a century now. However, she didn't allow herself to feel jealousy or inadequate about his choice to name the young spirit. To do so would mean to sting her master, and that was out of the question. If he wished to save the spirit from becoming corrupted by the phantoms plaguing their world, then she would go along with it.

"A sword?" she murmured, watching the spirit transform.

Unlike the spirit her master just named, she was a defensive Shinki. When called by her name, she would transform into an armour that protected her master from any and all attacks. The armour was fitting, as she had always sworn to protect her master with her life and over the years it appeared to have grown stronger along with her feelings. No weapon, blessed vessel or not, would break through her armour. As long as her love for her master remained true, her armour would never break.

The sword now held in his hand was of a decent length and appeared to be strong. It would be good for her master to have an offensive Shinki, despite him being a pacifist.

"Revert," her master ordered calmly.

As they saw the spirit in his humanoid form, she allowed herself a moment of silent prayer. Coming across young spirits always filled her with despair, no matter how hard she tried to refrain from feeling anything negative. After all, Shinki were those who wished to continue living, therefore meant that their lives had been unwillingly taken. In basic terms…

They were murdered, or died in an accident.

Something in her master's eyes told her that it was an awful death, too. He must have sensed it before naming the spirit. It was what she liked most about him, in fact. His empathetic, pacifistic nature.

"Who are you?"

The boy was young, possibly only thirteen years old. With his red shaggy hair and piercing icy blue eyes, he certainly stood out and it endeared him to her, as she certainly stood out, also. The name her master gave to him appeared on his forehead, whereas her own was on her neck.

"My name is Itachi," her master told him. As always, his voice was soothing to her. "I am otherwise known as a God of Peace."

His blue eyes widened. "God?"

"Yes." He smiled. "You are now one of my Shinki, otherwise known as a Sacred Tool."

"You mean… a slave." Warily, his eyes narrowed and the boy took a step back, expression suddenly becoming guarded.

The smile didn't falter on her master's face. "No. If you wish to label it as such, I prefer the term 'servant'. I am by no means enslaving you, or forcing you to work unpaid or obey me." Stepping back a half-step, Itachi gestured to her, saying, "Please meet Sakura. She is my Hafuri, otherwise known as 'Ouki'."

Whenever 'Ouki' was commanded, she would transform to her armour, protecting her master. However, as he was merely introducing her, she did not transform.

"What is a Hafuri?" the boy questioned, gaze still narrowed.

"It means I am his 'Blessed Vessel'," Sakura explained. "On countless occasions, I have risked my life protecting Itachi, even if it cost me my name."

"To have your name taken away means you have been released of your duties as a Shinki," Itachi added. "Your name as a person is Gaara, as a Shinki, Ài."

* * *

He was a tricky one, it seemed.

Sighing, Sakura approached the boy, doing her best to appear understanding, even if she was growing annoyed with him. Gaara was disinterested in his lessons, but she couldn't allow herself to feel any negativity. It would sting her master.

"Like this," she said for the third time and held up two fingers, rest of her fist closed. Then, she threw her hand out, saying, "Borderline!"

A large line was created, lighting up the night and to the side, she saw her master looking on proudly.

"This is stupid."

Green eyes narrowed and her borderline died down, disappearing. "A borderline can save you from phantoms."

"Yeah, so you keep saying." He rolled his eyes and threw himself down, laying down on the grass with his arms folded behind his head.

"Even Shinki can be corrupted by them," she continued.

Unlike herself, who was dressed in a beautiful, respectful kimono (complete with geta, of course), Gaara had chosen instead to wear a yukata. A battered old yukata. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Sakura willed herself to remain calm, lest she wished to sting her master.

"So?"

 _Deep breaths,_ she told herself. "Meaning that if we are corrupted, our master will be blighted. A Shinki who stings their master will be banished."

There was a case not too long ago. Concerning her master's brother, in fact. He'd come across a really damaged spirit – well, not exactly damaged, but he was at a difficult age, one that made it difficult for her master's brother to communicate with his Shinki, as he refused to help his master understand, he absolutely refused to co-operate with him.

Only a handful of weeks later and she participated in an ablution. In basic terms: she and two other Shinki had performed a ritual to purify the Shinki who'd stung his master so badly, he almost died. It was painful – for the boy, not them – and it lasted all day, but in the end, they managed to get through to him and he confessed to all his sins. An ablution could only be performed by Shinki, too, as they were formerly humans, therefore had a sense of right and wrong. Only Shinki could be the judge of another Shinki's behaviour.

Her master's brother was saved, in the end. As was his Shinki. They were now on much better terms and she'd heard they were fierce opponents.

Sakura's eyes narrowed on the boy before her. Never had she ever stung her master. He was an understanding God, one who'd taken the time to sit down with her and ask her how she was feeling. He did that every day for the past century and not once had he ever forgotten. How could she sting a master so kind?

"Do not sting Itachi, Gaara," she warned him seriously, voice almost cold. Her hands were once more hidden in the sleeves of her kimono as they came together in front of her. "Most Gods have too many Shinki to know which one is stinging them, but our master does not. I have never stung him in all my time being with him. If he was to be stung now, I will never forgive you."

Gaara simply tsked under his breath, shutting his eyes to block her out.

She gritted her teeth.

"Sakura."

She quickly turned to face her master, forgetting about the boy. "Itachi."

Many times, he'd told her to address him by his name, rather than 'master'. He believed they were close enough to skip the formalities.

"Perhaps we should give Gaara some time to adjust before starting his lessons," her master told her as he approached. Even though he wore a stern, supposedly expressionless mask, Sakura knew that that wasn't the case. He had a big heart. "Shall we take a walk in the meantime?"

She smiled and allowed her agitation to leave her as she released a deep breath.

* * *

"You do not like Gaara."

It was said casually, like her master was merely commenting on the weather. They were walking slowly, admiring the beauty surrounding his shrine. Cherry blossoms were blooming wonderfully, bursting the scene with colour and fresh grass grew beneath their feet, springing back up once they were off it. Even during the night, it was an amazing sight.

"I don't dislike him," she argued calmly, frowning softly. "He reminds me of Sasuke-sama's Shinki, Naruto."

"And that troubles you."

"Of course, Itachi!" Realising she had snapped at him, Sakura apologised quickly, coming to a halt in their walk. Her master stopped also, turning to face her.

It was in the spring when he found her drifting spirit, hiding beneath a large, beautiful cherry blossom tree. Due to where he found her, her master had called her 'Sakura'. It certainly fit. With pink hair and green eyes, the name suited her perfectly.

"What if he stings you?" she questioned worriedly. No matter how much she tried to hide it, or tried not to feel it, she couldn't stop herself. "Sasuke-sama almost died because of Naruto. I…" It felt shameful even admitting such a thing, and Sakura found herself unable to meet his gentle gaze, but she said it anyway, telling him, "I would be lost without you."

Soft fingers tipped her head back until her eyes met his. It was then that Itachi murmured, "You are the one who guides me as my Hafuri, Sakura. Remember that."

They both knew she hadn't ever had to teach her master right from wrong. As a God of Peace, he always played by the rules and remained calm and collected, leading many to pray to him for help and guidance, especially in dire times such as wars and natural disasters.

As his Hafuri, she helped him grant as many of those wishes as they could and consoled her master when he was unable to help – when the disasters or wars were caused by another God, he could not intervene, even if it hurt him greatly standing back and doing nothing. He was a God of Peace. The only fighting he did was against phantoms, or the rare spar against his brother, who was a God of War and needed to stay at the top of his game.

His fingers trailed across her jaw and up to her cheek, where he cupped it tenderly. "It is I who would be lost without you."

For a God and his Shinki, they had an unusual relationship. It was… almost a taboo for them to become involved with one another. But Sakura was unashamed to admit that she did love her master – and with all her heart. Perhaps that was why she became his Hafuri.

Smiling, she felt her worry diminish as she leaned into his touch, shutting her eyes. Being around her master was so wonderfully peaceful. His aura radiated tranquillity and she often found herself drawn to him, even more so on the rare occasion where they were confronted. It was impossible to feel anything negative around him.

She was forever grateful that he was the one who found her.

* * *

It had been several hours before they returned to his shrine. The sun had begun to rise and for several moments, they enjoyed the sunrise, just like they did every morning.

"I did it."

The words captured her attention and she looked to the young boy. Itachi had already told Gaara that he needn't bother with formalities, which he didn't have a problem with.

Her master smiled and she realised, in that moment, that he'd known Gaara would prefer to practice alone, rather than in front of them both. Was it to save face in case he made a mistake? Was it in case he struggled to perform the borderline?

"I would like to see," Sakura encouraged him, previous uncertainty of the boy slipping away entirely. If he'd willingly practised the borderline, then there was hope for him, in her eyes.

Nodding, Gaara turned his back on them and closed his fist, keeping his index and middle finger extended. Then, as he drew a line, he muttered, "Borderline!"

He must have been practising hard and for hours on end, because she had never seen such a powerful borderline, not from a spirit who'd only been a Shinki less than a day! The sight of it had her smiling brightly up at her master, who seemed just as impressed as she felt.

"Wow," she managed to say when he turned back to them.

"I am impressed, Gaara," he complimented him. "And I can sense you were also holding back."

Seriously? Sakura looked back to Gaara, smile still in place. Maybe she _could_ trust the boy with her master's life, after all? All they'd have to work on were his manners and choice of clothing, which seemed to be seriously lacking. They couldn't have him meeting the other Gods with such dreadful manners and dressed so poorly, or else they would look down their noses at her master, blaming him.

"It seemed like overkill going full strength," Gaara replied simply.

"Come," her master ordered of the boy. "I shall show you to your quarters. Despite being dead, Shinki still need sleep."

"As do Gods," Sakura added, walking beside Gaara and behind Itachi.

She could hear the smirk in his voice when he replied teasingly, "Yes, ma'am."

Even after a century, she still blushed, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono to hide her smile.

* * *

Oh?

Lowering her head respectfully, she greeted her master's brother before leading him into the shrine. Sasuke already knew his way around, as he had been there several times before, but it was considered impolite to leave him to find his own way around.

Although he was a God, he walked behind her, walking at the same slow pace and allowing her to lead the way.

As she had expected: her master was sitting in the gardens with Gaara, teaching him about phantoms and explaining why it was their duty to rid the world of them. Yes, he was a God of Peace, therefore a pacifist, but phantoms caused a devastating amount of damage to the earth and its people. They did their best to stop the suffering of the world.

"A new Shinki?" Sasuke murmured as they came to a halt, interrupting her as she made to announce his arrival.

Itachi immediately looked away from Gaara, surprise evident on his features. "Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

Dark eyes narrowed on herself and Gaara and wordlessly, she drifted closer to the redhead, hand coming to rest on his shoulder when she sensed he was about to stand. It was important he didn't annoy Sasuke in any way. That smart mouth of his would get them both into trouble, if she wasn't careful.

"Perhaps we should discuss this in private, then," Itachi said with a smile. "Join me for tea?"

Sasuke nodded, eyeing his older brother warily. "We'll be staying the night, too."

How rude to invite himself-

Sakura cut the thought off, instead taking an unnoticeable deep breath and releasing it slowly.

"Feel honoured," she told the young boy as the brothers walked away, leaving them to stand in the gardens. "It isn't often that Sasuke-sama visits his brother, let alone spends the night."

"Do they not get along?"

The question irked her. Who was this child to ask such a thing? How rude. Still, Sakura answered truthfully, "Itachi loves his younger brother with all his heart."

"But Sasuke doesn't feel the same?"

"Sasuke- _sama_ ," she stressed the honorific, making the boy look away and blush at his mistake, "is temperamental. Not to mention they are completely different Gods. While Itachi is a God of Peace, his brother is a God of War."

They had to make sure they didn't anger Sasuke. Lack of respect, lack of manners or a simple word out of place would ignite that anger within him. Though, she had to wonder where his Shinki was. Naruto, despite being a loudmouthed brat, was more than capable of calming his master. As her own master had said the other day: Hafuri and Shinki were supposed to guide their masters.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her surroundings, dismissing Gaara's curious gaze as she pressed her hand flat against the cherry blossom tree beside her. The gentle breeze that filled the gardens stirred up loose petals, aiding them in a dance around her and Gaara, one petal grazing her cheek, the silkiness of said petal feeling more like a lover's caress.

She dropped her hand from the tree and opened her eyes, breathing out a sigh of relief.

While Naruto wasn't on Sasuke's person or with him, he _was_ nearby.

"What was that?"

Sakura glanced down at the young boy and offered a small smile. Her worry for their safety had made her snap at him, hadn't it? That wouldn't happen again. "Sasuke-sama's Hafuri, Naruto, was not with him."

He frowned at that. "And you can sense him? The Hafuri?"

Nodding, she turned her gaze onto the tree beside them, admiring the beauty. "I found that, if I were to concentrate hard enough, I can converse with the cherry blossom trees. There are hundreds in this area."

It was a rare ability, one that had stunned her master when she found she could do it. How Sakura had discovered her talent, she wasn't entirely sure. She simply felt a pull towards them and, upon touching the tree and concentrating, she could hear them. Almost like they were talking to her.

Deciding they were straying from his training, Sakura turned back to Gaara. "How far did Itachi get with explaining phantoms to you?"

He sighed.

* * *

It was late at night when Itachi returned to her, seeming exhausted. Naruto had yet to come to the shrine, leading her to believe he'd had another argument with his master. She hoped, more than anything, that he was not stinging Sasuke again. After all, even Hafuri could sting their master. They could still be corrupted.

Usually, when Sasuke was at the shrine, they did not do anything to gain his attention, or make him aware of their relationship, however, he very rarely stayed the night and as of late, they had grown used to the closeness.

"It seems I am not the only God to find a new Shinki."

She frowned at that, concern clear on her features. "And the new Shinki is…?"

"Stinging Sasuke. Naruto-kun is currently staying with the Shinki, as he believes he could be of use."

They hadn't brought the new Shinki along due to how contagious the situation could be. It sounded impossible, but it was the unfortunate truth. After performing the purification on Naruto, she and her master had heard that one of the other Shinki had stung her own master. It was the aftereffects of another Shinki's bad behaviour and was far more common than one would think. It was the reason why so few Shinki were willing to participate in an ablution.

"Is Sasuke-sama okay?" she asked quietly, taking her master's hand with both of hers.

"It is not at the stage of needing a purification," Itachi told her, his relief obvious. "However, he is exhausted and had been travelling."

Sasuke was a long way from his shrine and in such an exhausted state, he wouldn't be able to teleport. It was understandable now why he had chosen to come to his brother's shrine, where he knew he would be protected from phantoms who would blight him further.

"We mustn't tell Gaara why Sasuke-sama is here," Sakura informed him after careful consideration. "The aftereffects…"

Much to her gratefulness, her master didn't argue with her and instead nodding, leaning down to kiss the name he'd given to her. It was something he did often when they were alone and not once had it failed to make her shiver.

* * *

She made the decision in the early hours of the morning.

Leaning over her slumbering master, Sakura's eyes saddened before she pressed a tender kiss to his forehead, silently leaving their room seconds after she was dressed.

While he wasn't being stung by either of his Shinki, witnessing his brother's suffering was causing her master to suffer, too. As his Hafuri – no, as his lover, she knew she needed to do something about it.

She had to protect Itachi.

Narrowing her eyes at the sound of his brother's laboured breathing, Sakura quickened her step. Itachi was an optimist despite what many people thought, and he would also do anything to keep her from worrying. Just a single sniff of the air made an awful shiver run down her spine, however, telling her of the impurity within the shrine.

"Wait."

Her halt was abrupt, hair slipping from the quick bun she'd made in her rush to leave. Glancing at the boy out of the corner of her eye, she regarded him silently. The fact that he'd heard her when she so was quiet said a lot for his talent, especially when so young and new to the life of a Shinki.

"I can't sleep," Gaara told her.

That… was it? Sakura frowned. Would she have to take on a parental role? He was only young, barely even thirteen years of age from the looks of him. She and her master had agreed that she appeared to be in her early twenties. It was a bit… odd, if she had to act like Gaara's mother.

"He's… keeping me up," he continued, icy blue eyes shifting to look at the bedroom door. It was the room Sasuke was staying in. When his eyes returned to hers, they were serious, not pleading. "Wherever you're going, I'm coming, too."

"Forgive me, but that's not possible."

His features shifted, becoming angry and Sakura quickly placed her hand over his mouth, stunning him with her speed. Green eyes warily darted over her shoulder, holding her breath until she was certain it was safe to continue, using her expression to tell Gaara to calm down. He listened, fortunately. If his anger had continued to escalate, it would have woken their master and possibly stung him, too.

"If you come with me," she said truthfully, eyebrows knitting together, "it could put Itachi in great danger. I cannot risk that, Gaara." Turning to face him fully, she placed her hands on his shoulders and lowered herself to his height, expression growing grave. "And no matter what, do not touch Sasuke-sama, or allow him to touch Itachi. Even if it means drawing a borderline to keep them separate. Do you understand?"

The words seemed to knock some sense into the boy, because Gaara nodded in agreement. Though it didn't appear as though he had any, his brows pinched together, expression troubled. It was the first genuine emotion she'd seen from him and it had Sakura smiling softly, hands leaving his shoulders and cupping his cheeks.

"I am trusting you to protect Itachi, Gaara," she whispered fiercely, trying to convey her feelings for their master. "It is the first time I have ever entrusted him to another."

Silently, numbly, he nodded, accepting his orders.

She smiled gratefully.

* * *

They were by a lake when she found them.

Masked in the cover of the cherry blossom trees, green eyes surveyed the scene coolly. Naruto was working Sasuke's Shinki to the bone, drilling it into the man that he couldn't act on the temptations he was feeling. However, it seemed that, because Naruto had the body of a teenager, the older guy was refusing to listen to him.

Her eyes narrowed.

It was how Naruto had been in the beginning. Ignorant, defiant and so full of anger. Angry at the world for leaving him behind, angry at Sasuke for naming him. He'd been angry at the world and everyone in it. That was the only reason why he wasn't acting rashly in regards to the wayward Shinki. However, she…

Narrowed eyes widened as she sensed another's presence and the appearance of the boy gained the attention of Naruto and the other Shinki.

"Come out," the blond demanded.

And as Gaara left the cover of the trees, she instantly appeared beside him, halting him with a hand on his shoulder. She was disappointed that he had gone against her orders, but then somebody else appeared behind her.

"Our connection is too strong for you to sneak out, Sakura," her master reprimanded her calmly.

She should have known.

Icy blue eyes met hers and he shook his head, silently telling her he'd tried to stop Itachi, but had failed. That didn't surprise her in the least. Their master was a stubborn man and once his mind was made, it was difficult to sway him. No, it was impossible.

"Sakura-chan!"

Despite knowing she was in a world of trouble, she smiled politely at Naruto, lowering her head respectfully. He was grinning widely at her, dressed in a casual yukata that had him standing out painfully. The colour of it was a bright shade of orange, the obi a deep shade of blue that matched Sasuke's kimono.

"Who's that guy?" he asked her.

She sighed. "Naruto, you know it is impolite when you dismiss Itachi like this."

He pouted childishly at that. It wasn't all that long ago when he'd found out about the nature of her relationship with Itachi and it seemed he was still unhappy about it, but he thankfully kept it a secret.

"Yo, Itachi."

"Itachi- _sama_ ," she stressed.

"You don't call him that," the older man by his side argued, raising a challenging eyebrow. "Why should we?"

Sakura bristled, but forced herself to calm down. As she'd said: one Shinki's bad behaviour, their sins, left awful aftereffects for other Shinki. Even after a century, she was still affected by them – no one was spared from the aftereffects. Sakura merely hoped Gaara was tougher than he looked, as in her eyes, he was a scrawny child just barely scraping adolescence. Like Naruto, now that she thought about it.

"I have the permission of my master to call him by his given name," she retorted coolly. "You, however, are a lowly Shinki who has stung their master, therefore do not have the right to call any God by their given name, at least not so casually." Eyes narrowing once more, she looked back to Naruto, showing her disappointment in him. "You are Sasuke-sama's Hafuri, Naruto. How could you have allowed this to happen?"

The laws on stinging your master were strict. Any Shinki, or Hafuri, who stung their master was to endure an ablution before having their name revoked. After being disowned, they would then be banished. It would happen to her if she stung her master, regardless of their relationship.

"I'm tryin' my best here," Naruto whined, scratching his head. "The guy isn't listenin' to me."

"What is your name?" Itachi asked of the older looking Shinki. "Sasuke failed to mention it."

But Naruto suddenly got defensive and stepped in front of his sibling Shinki, blue eyes defiant. "I know you're a God of Peace and all, but there's a reason Sasuke hasn't told you his name."

"Naruto-kun," he replied calmly, almost patronisingly. It wasn't that her master thought himself better than Naruto, it was just that sometimes, one had to… almost dumb themselves down to hold a conversation with the boy. He was uneducated and absolutely refused to take any of the lessons Sasuke tried to give him. "My brother is being blighted and I am losing my patience. Please, do not push me."

She looked up at her master, knowing full well that, while he had a pacifistic nature, he was still fiercely protective of his family. He never liked harming another person or going against his status as a God, but if it meant protecting the ones he held dear, then he would do so.

"Itachi, we do not need his name to perform a purification ritual."

He nodded once, agreeing, but then said, "We cannot perform it without my brother's presence. Should his impurities begin to eat away at his name, we will need Sasuke to call out to him."

Just like he had for Naruto.

The man was getting impatient and he stomped around Naruto, closing the distance between them.

She acted on instinct, quickly drawing a powerful borderline that, on contact, had him thrown backwards several meters, landing in the lake. He resurfaced a handful of seconds later, spluttering and demanding what her problem was.

"You are corrupted," Sakura answered simply, keeping one arm out to the side to keep her master and Gaara behind her, other arm raised in front of herself, fingers still extended and prepared to draw another line. "I will not risk you corrupting any of us."

"Sakura-chan, please," Naruto begged, coming to stand on the other side of her borderline. His features were pleading, eyes wide as he tried to get through to her. "I'm doin' my best here!"

No, he wasn't. They all knew he wasn't. "If you were doing your best, Naruto, you would have risked losing your name to save Sasuke-sama, but instead, you are risking his life. That is not the actions of a Hafuri."

"Then _help me_ ," he demanded angrily, arms stretched out wide. "If you're such a know-it-all then _help me!"_

"Oi," Gaara snarled in warning.

She silenced the boy with a warning glare, ordering with her expression alone that he stayed behind her. It was obvious he disliked it, but he followed her order without much of a resistance. Sakura turned her gaze back on Naruto.

"If you wish to help Sasuke-sama, you need to deal with the root of the problem." Green eyes swept over to the Shinki leaving the lake, his shockingly ginger hair a shade darker due to being wet. "His sins must be confessed and he must repent."

Slowly, clearly wary of taking his eyes off them, Naruto looked over to where Sasuke's other Shinki was standing, grumbling to himself. His giant stature easily dwarfed Naruto, possibly even Sasuke, too. Sakura was willing to bet he was taller than her own master.

When he continued to appear torn, she told him, "At this rate, Sasuke-sama will have no other choice but to die and be reincarnated, Naruto. That means starting from the beginning all over again, possibly with a different personality, too."

It wasn't something she'd personally witnessed, but there were many stories about what happened when a God died. They were reincarnated – the same body, but they would appear as a child and would be forced to grow up all over again. All knowledge, all character traits and any feelings vanished. It was another reason why she was so against stinging her master. There was the possibility that, if he was forced to reincarnate, that he would not hold the same feelings for her as he did now. He wouldn't even be the same man. She would lose him forever.

His sibling Shinki glanced over at him with narrowed red-orange eyes, to which Naruto sighed and shut his own, not looking over to her or voicing his agreement, instead nodding.

That was all she needed.

* * *

"I've found another Shinki to help."

Sakura looked up and over in Naruto's direction as he approached her master's shrine, only for her eyes to widen in shock. Behind him was a Shinki she knew of, but did not know personally. For Naruto to know her, however, surprised her greatly.

"My name is Tenten," she introduced herself and bowed her head respectively. "I am the God of Knowledge's Shinki."

The God of Knowledge was otherwise known as Neji, a God who was well-known and respected by all. Many human children and teenagers prayed to him before new school years or before their exams, wishing that he would guide them through the struggles, and honour them by sharing his knowledge. As far as she was aware, he had a large number of Shinki. However, Tenten was his first. She was not a Hafuri, but she was still powerful and had been with Neji longer than Sakura had with her master.

Like herself, she was dressed in a kimono. Whereas her own furisode kimono was a deep shade of red with a pink cherry blossoms pattern and white obi and collar, Tenten's iromuji kimono was differently white and although there wasn't a pattern with that style of kimono, she wore a red hakama. It had been a while since she saw Shinki wearing shrine maiden clothing. While she herself more than likely held that title, Itachi didn't ask her to wear a hakama. Instead, he gifted her with beautiful kimonos.

"It is nice to meet you," she replied, copying the gesture of bowing her head. "And I would like to thank you for agreeing to help."

They raised their heads at the same time and Sakura assessed the other woman's features silently. Her warm brown hair was tied up into two buns, though she had left her bangs down to frame her features, which were clear of any makeup. She supposed a woman like Tenten wouldn't need makeup, as her beauty was natural, her equally brown eyes gentle and kind.

"Sasuke-sama has helped Neji-sama before. I would like to repay the favour for my master," Tenten replied easily, smiling.

"Then let's begin, shall we?" Sakura suggested and turned, walking in the direction of the north exit.

Her master's shrine held three exits. There was the main entrance where people prayed outside of and then there were two hidden exits. Since Sasuke's second Shinki was not able to step onto holy ground while corrupted, they had him waiting not far from their grounds, away from watchful eyes, because while humans couldn't see Gods or their Shinki, other Shinki could. Sakura would rather keep the aftereffects of a corrupted Shinki to a minimum.

"Have you participated in a purification ritual before?" she asked Tenten, though didn't look back at her. "I'm afraid Naruto has not, so I would prefer to have another who is experienced."

"Yes," the woman said in return.

Good, she was glad. Naruto knew vaguely what to expect and what was expected of him, because as she said before, he had needed an ablution once. Also, despite Gaara so far appearing strong and capable, she would not allow him to partake in the ritual. It would be too much for him.

"What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked and quickened his step to walk beside her. "Should I go get him?"

Sakura shook her head. "You cannot touch him, Naruto. If you are blighted, you will be unable to perform the ritual." As much as she hated to admit it… "Itachi will try to rouse him. If all else fails, we have plenty of holy water waiting."

When they left the shrine and the grounds, they found Gaara sitting several feet away from Sasuke's Shinki, with a borderline shining brightly. It didn't surprise her that he had tried to leave, but what did surprise her was the casualness of Gaara. He was lounging against a tree with his eyes shut, a picture of relaxation despite what was happening around him. It filled her with hope that he wouldn't be effected by the other Shinki.

Only seconds after their arrival, Itachi joined them, with Sasuke slowly walking behind him. He had to sit down once they arrived, breathing harshly and clutching at his chest.

The sight of him had Tenten's eyes widening and they immediately snapped to the giant of a man. "You have stung your master this much?" she demanded in disgust.

Like herself, it seemed Tenten could sense the deadly amount of blight. The would have to act fast.

"Where is his name, Sasuke?" Itachi asked calmly. He didn't leave his brother's side, standing beside him protectively. A lot closer than Sakura was comfortable with. However, she held her tongue.

When his master couldn't answer, Naruto spoke up, saying, "On his back."

"Remove the top half of your yukata," Sakura ordered.

"What?" the ginger man snarled.

Gaara's eyes opened and narrowed, which stopped the other Shinki from saying anything else. It made her wonder what had transpired during the time the two had been alone. With a growl of anger, he shrugged out of the sleeves of his yukata, allowing it to rest on his waist.

The sight of the eyes belonging to phantoms on his torso sickened them all and immediately, she, Tenten and Naruto held out their hands.

"We now cleanse this spirit which belongs to the Sasuke God, and preserve the name bestowed upon it," Naruto began, blue eyes narrowing. It was the most serious she'd ever seen him. Apparently, he was only just beginning to realise how much danger his master was in.

The Shinki's red-orange eyes snapped to each of theirs, though soon shot back to Naruto's, the anger and hatred in them obvious.

She didn't give him the chance to act as Sakura murmured, "With defilement expelled and avarice removed, it is a sincere, principled, just soul."

Tenten followed quickly. "With flesh pared, may he be cleansed."

With that, they each drew powerful borderlines, lighting up the night sky with their brilliant lights. It took a few moments to take effect, but they all knew when the purification began, because the Shinki began screaming and howling with pain, throwing himself into the borderlines as he tried to break out. It had to be agonising, she supposed. An ablution was basically a beating that grew more and more intense the longer it went on.

She heard Sasuke cry out in pure agony behind her, but refused to look, instead focusing entirely on the ritual.

They could hear the phantoms clinging to his body talking and screeching, making Naruto wince. One warning glare from her kept him from faltering. Even if it took hours, they had to remain strong for not only Sasuke's sake, but also the Shinki's. An ablution couldn't stop until it was over.

"Confess, Jūgo!" Naruto ordered.

" _Let me out!"_ he screamed and threw himself into her borderline. It didn't waver for a second. " _Let me out!"_

She narrowed her eyes and with her silent order, the borderlines drawn closed in around Jūgo.

"Confess your sins," she ordered.

" _I'll kill you all!"_

It was no good.

The phantoms were beginning to change his body – no, Jūgo was becoming a phantom. Extra arms seemed to tear out from his sides, his upper body convulsing as it doubled in muscle.

If he didn't start confessing soon… Green eyes glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Sasuke spit out a mouthful of blood. Her master hovered over him worriedly and she feared he would touch him.

They each grabbed their arms to steady their hands as they increased the power of their borderlines, doing their best to ignore the howls of suffering coming from within. Jūgo continued to fight against his prison.

Then, he yelled, "I broke into a bank and stole money!"

Her eyes widened. A confession! Only a few minutes in and the pressure of the purification had already extracted a confession. It was a good sign.

Naruto pushed, "And?"

Again, behind her, she heard Sasuke coughing up blood.

"Stronger!" she ordered when Jūgo refused to continue.

By now, his hands and shoulders were pressed flat onto the borderlines, eyes squeezing shut at the extreme pain it caused. He could no longer throw himself into the walls.

"His mark," Tenten warned them. "The blight is making its way towards it!"

"J-Jūgo," Sasuke called out weakly, once again coughing.

"Come on, Jūgo," came Naruto's yell of encouragement and desperation. "Don't give up on us! Don't let yourself become a phantom!"

And then it was like something switched in Jūgo's mind, because suddenly, a devastating amount of confessions began to tumble from his lips, leaving them breathless. It was no surprise Sasuke was in such a dire state! Slowly, painfully slowly, as he confessed each sin, the phantoms clinging to his body began breaking away, evaporating in the light of their borderlines.

* * *

Falling against a tree, Sakura panted harshly and shut her eyes against the harsh sun. It had taken many hours, but they'd done. They had saved Sasuke and Jūgo. Somewhere to her left, she could hear Tenten and Naruto breathing harshly, too, but didn't look at them. Only when she was shielded from it did she open her eyes again, squinting at the sight of her master.

Itachi smiled warmly and knelt in front of her, gently brushing the stray hairs from her face. She no longer had the energy to worry about those around them seeing that their relationship was more than a God and his Shinki. Instead, she focused on her master's beautiful features. She focused on his hand as it slowly trailed down her face and to her neck, over the name he had given to her.

"Thank you, Sakura," he told her gratefully. In his other hand was a bottle of water, which he handed over. "This is the second time you have saved my foolish little brother."

And she would do it again, if she had to. She would do anything for her master and like he could read her mind, Itachi's gaze softened and his thumb shifted, stroking her neck, expressing to her all she needed to know.

* * *

 **A/N - It felt different writing an innocent kind of love, like without all the lemons and things like that. Not going to lie, I kind of liked it. Took me a little longer than I'd hoped it would, but I'm happy with how it turned out. The anime is called Noragami.**


	6. Story 6: Adrenaline Junkie

**Story 6**

 **Prompt: Adrenaline junkie – nichiral3  
Rating: T**

* * *

Shit. Shit. _Shit!_

Ducking behind a boulder as flames attempted to burn her alive, Sakura grabbed one of her kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, eyes narrowed and calculating as she waited for the tell-tale sign-

 _There!_

Without a second thought, the kunai was flung through the air, the speed of it unstoppable and as it collided with her enemy, they had all of three seconds to try and save themselves before it promptly exploded, taking out the others who'd been surrounding them.

How in the hell did she get herself stuck in such a mess of a mission? Since there was no time for long stories or explanations, all Sakura could really offer was that she got bored. Bored, agitated and competitive – a terrible combination. The second a challenge presented itself, she was taking it, regardless of the fact it could've ended badly. Seriously, though. Who could really blame her? It'd been weeks – _months_ , even – since she'd last seen any action and the person who brought the action to her, was somebody who'd never disappointed her before. He was almost as bad as herself when it came to growing restless with the need to feel useful.

" _Now_ ," a voice spoke lowly in her ear via the communication device.

Already knowing he could see her from his hidden position, she nodded once, not vocally replying as Sakura darted out from her safety now that the fire jutsu had stopped, revealing herself to the enemy. They faltered at her appearance, eyes lingering on her seal and hair. Wise, she thought to herself. At least they knew not to underestimate her, which would make for a more exciting battle.

Suddenly leaning back until her hands touched the ground, back in a perfect arch, her leg snapped up, foot smashing into the surprise attacker's face and sending him soaring high into the sky. During the time it took him to stop ascending, Sakura managed to dispatch of another three of them, her elbow meeting one's throat with enhanced strength, a kunai ramming itself between the eyes of another, followed by a swift palm to the chest of the final guy, instantly stopping his heart. As the last man fell, the one who'd been unable to stop his ascent crashed into the ground, completely shattering it as a crater surrounded his missing body.

" _Four on your left."_

Whirling around, she met the first attacker head on, growling under her breath as her fist met his face, smashing him down and although he bounced back up, it wasn't voluntary and that was proven in the way he immediately collapsed, eyes rolling to the back of his head. The next one was trickier and it took her only a couple of seconds to take note of the feminine outline, the obvious curves. Narrowing her eyes, Sakura spun away, making sure to watch the katana carefully. The woman was adept at using it, there was no doubt about that, however, she…

Hopping up from the ground, she caught the blade between her sandals and with a single jerk of her feet, she snapped it in half, quickly leaping back to put space between them. In her excitement to leave the village on a mission after spending months being cooped up in the hospital, she'd foolishly forgotten her gloves, which protected her from sharp blades, should she get stuck in a similar position of needing to stop an attack. The next best thing had been her sandals.

"Don't underestimate me," the woman yelled, running straight for her.

Shaking her head and tutting at her stupidity, Sakura merely waited until she was closer, taking her by utter surprise as she threw her fist forward, though didn't come into contact with her body. A second later and the shockwave of her enhanced strength wiped away the smug smirk that had been forming on the woman's lips, having thought she'd missed her target. Not even wasting any time in watching what happened to her, she spun on her heel, simultaneously ducking to avoid a kick to the head. While down on the ground, her hand grabbed at the broken katana and, in a perfectly executed move that Sasuke would surely be proud of, she rammed the serrated blade into the enemy's chest, ignoring the blood that splattered across her neck and face.

The last enemy was missing, she noted. Sakura looked to each side of her. Behind. Above. Finally, without warning, her fist clenched and slammed into the ground below, shattering it completely and making the earth quake. The rat who'd been attempting to sneak up on her was lost amongst the destruction, unable to escape.

She assumed that was the last of them, because her partner suddenly appeared by her side, red and black eyes surveying the area.

"Congratulations," he told her, gaze languidly meeting hers. "You managed to defeat the fodder."

Wait, what? Fodder? "What do you mean?" Sakura demanded. She tried to pretend like she wasn't out of breath – if his words were true, then it'd be embarrassing that she was already tired. "I thought they were-"

The raising of his hand silenced her, his eyes once more searching the trees. "They're here."

And that was when she felt it. No, when she felt them. Hundreds of shinobi surrounding them, slowly appearing one by one from the safety of the trees. Some wore malicious grins at the sight of them being so majorly outnumbered, whereas others appeared vengeful as they glanced upon the destruction she'd caused.

"This is insane, Itachi," she muttered. "I know I wanted something different, but this…"

"You wanted adventure," he supplied.

Green eyes were wide with disbelief, sparing him a single glance.

"Adrenaline junkie," he added, flashing her a rare smile. "I know what that's like."

And then Itachi ran forward, leaving her to follow up with an assault of her own.


	7. Story 7: Romeo & Juliet

**Story 7**

 **Prompt: Romeo and Juliet – Requested by Ukatoemania  
Rating: T**

* * *

 _Congratulations if you got the part you wanted. If not, better luck next time and we hope to see you on opening night._

 _ **Montague Household:**_

 _Montague – Nara Shikamaru_

 _Lady Montague – Sabaku Temari_

 _Romeo – Uchiha Sasuke_

 _Benvolio – Rock Lee_

 _Abram – Sarutobi Konohamaru_

 _Balthasar – Tomo Udon_

 _ **Capulet Household**_

 _Capulet – Akimichi Choji_

 _Lady Capulet – Yamanaka Ino_

 _Juliet – Haruno Sakura_

 _Tybalt – Sabaku Gaara_

 _Nurse – Tamura Tenten_

 _Sampson – Inuzuka Kiba_

 _Gregory – Sabaku Kankuro_

 _Peter – Aburame Shino_

 _ **Other Roles:**_

 _Mercutio – Uzumaki Naruto_

 _Prince of Verona, Escales – Momochi Haku_

 _The County Paris – Isobu Yagura_

 _Friar Lawrence – Hyuuga Neji_

 _Friar John – Hirakawa Sora_

 _Auditions start tomorrow and be sure to bring your own lunches._

 _–Hatake Kakashi_

* * *

"Yes," she cried happily, fist thrown in the air as she jumped up and down in her spot. A huge grin was plastered from ear-to-ear, despite the cheek strain that had plagued her since the news. "I can't believe it."

"So you keep saying," her best friend replied in a mutter, rolling her blue eyes. "You know, it's not _that_ big a deal. It's just the community theatre, Sakura."

Not even Ino's whining could destroy her happy mood. "You're just saying that because you're stuck with playing my mother. Then again," she said with a slight purr, fully intent on riling the blonde girl up. "You _do_ look old enough to play a middle-aged woman."

It gave her the reaction she'd been hoping for: Ino growled with annoyance and stormed off ahead, tightening her hold on her bag strap like she was taking all her anger out on it, or possibly even restraining herself from lashing out at her. Whatever. Sakura couldn't have cared less in that moment, because damn it, her mood was so damn high that nothing could possibly bring her down.

Looking over at the dark-haired boy who was also leaving the theatre hall, her smile widened. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun."

He looked over at her and like every other time their eyes connected, her heart skipped a beat and her stomach somersaulted, leaving her breathless. Gods, that boy was beautiful. Although he was kind of quiet and kept to himself, there was a reason why he was given the main part – and it wasn't only because he was good looking. It was because it was obvious he was passionate about the things he cared for and one of those things happened to be theatre, which may have influenced her decision to join just the tiniest bit.

And now…

Nodding, he copied her wave of farewell and left through the same doors Ino had stormed out of.

And now…

She was his Juliet, and he was her Romeo.

Inside, she squealed with happiness.

* * *

Inside, she wept oceans of tears.

Why did the Gods hate her? Had she done something awful in a past life to deserve such a horrific fate? Damn it, just as she landed a major part as her crush's love interest, something happened to rip them apart. They were like the real-life Romeo and Juliet. Minus the death and feuding clans.

It was only the first day of rehearsal, but being the low-budgeted theatre that it was and because it was the summer holidays, they only had a handful of weeks to prepare themselves for the big showing of a timeless classic, _Romeo and Juliet._ Still, it was the first day and already, something had gone wrong. Something major that instantly had her happy mood vanishing, had her feeling like all the oxygen had been vacuumed out of the room.

Standing beside their theatre director was a boy she'd only caught glimpses of, yet they all knew exactly who he was and given the fact that his younger brother wasn't there with them, then that only meant the worst.

"Unfortunately, Sasuke won't make it to rehearsals because he was hospitalised overnight. There's no telling how long he'll be gone, or if he'll make it back in time for opening night," their director said in his lazy drawl.

There was a chorus of 'what happened' and 'what are we supposed to do now' behind her, but Sakura was unable to focus on any of it as her heart broke and her stomach plummeted. Not only did she miss her opportunity to finally have her first kiss with the boy she'd been in love with for as long as she could remember, but he was in such a bad way that he'd been _hospitalised_.

A finger jabbed her in the side, forcing her to meet shining blue eyes. The smile on Ino's face was vindictive and sly as she said quietly, "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

"Settle down," the director raised his voice, but once again lowered it once he had their attention. That was Hatake Kakashi for you, though. Never one to exert any more energy than was necessary. "Since Sasuke is in hospital, his older brother, Itachi-kun, has kindly offered to step in and take his place."

Sakura couldn't help but frown. Just her luck. "What's wrong with Sasuke-kun?"

The boy by his side, Itachi, gave her a smile, one that eased her worry for him ever so slightly. "Appendicitis, it appears. While he is already receiving the best medical care, our parents believe it would be best for him to not continue with theatre for the duration of summer, to avoid any unnecessary stress."

Unnecessary stress? How dare he. Sasuke _loved_ theatre, even if he wouldn't outwardly admit it and his presence alone was what dragged everyone else in there. After all, if the cool Uchiha Sasuke, a boy who didn't get involved in much, was passionate about something that seemed so lame to everyone else, then that meant it _had_ to be cool. And he proved them right because every summer since joining, without fail, they'd made fun memories.

"No way," a loud voice yelled from the back and instantly knowing who it was, she sighed with annoyance. Damned Naruto. As if her day wasn't bad enough. The only reason he joined was to try and outdo Sasuke. So far, however, it was the latter who received all the major parts, whereas Naruto was always left with little speaking parts due to never being able to remember any of his lines. Kakashi had actually taken a huge risk in giving him the part of Mercutio. "Itachi's way too old to play Sakura-chan's boyfriend."

The colour drained from her features.

How the hell had she forgotten about that when it was _just_ said? It was all the heartbreak, worry and disappointment, Sakura decided. It was making it impossible to take anything in, like one of those slow-motion moments in movies, when it got all dramatic or somebody the main character loved died.

"Actually, Itachi-kun has only just turned eighteen." Smiling, Kakashi added, "So he is just barely five years older than you all."

But… But he was a man. Romeo and Juliet kissed and got married and… How in the hell was she supposed to do that with him? Yes, she knew in the original play, Juliet was only thirteen years old and Romeo was a few years older, but he was Sasuke's older brother and so much older than her and it didn't feel right.

"I don't mind taking Sakura's place," Ino chirped up, smiling innocently. "If she's too shy to work with Itachi-san, that is."

Green eyes narrowed on Ino, but the blonde was too busy playing the concerned friend to notice, throwing an arm around Sakura's shoulders in a show of friendship. It didn't matter how hard she fought against the hold, because Ino was having none of it, instead holding her in place.

"Oh?" Kakashi questioned, his eyebrows raising. "Have we lost our Juliet, too?"

It felt like everyone was looking at her with accusatory stares. After all, it was no secret that she was in love with Sasuke – she wore her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see, and didn't care in the slightest. Acting like she was in love with his older brother made her stomach turn, but theatre was… It was something Sasuke was passionate about and disappointing him was out of the question, not when she knew he would already be so disappointed with himself.

It was that thought that had her saying, "No. I'm still Juliet."

The arm around her vanished and she didn't fail to notice the look of annoyance in Ino's eyes.

"It's still wrong," Naruto demanded, shoving his way through the group to get to the front, where he openly glared at Itachi. "He's too old to be kissing her."

While it _did_ make her a little uncomfortable kissing someone who was five years her senior, Sakura knew that it was just acting. Sasuke would still receive her true first kiss. It wouldn't just be an act with him.

"Shut up, idiot," she snapped and hit him upside the head, effectively shutting him up. "We can't let Sasuke-kun down now that he can't do this. He'll never forgive us."

Kakashi smiled at her proudly. "Exactly. As for Naruto's statement, _obviously,_ our version of the play will be toned down considerably." Scratching the back of his head, he continued almost nervously, "Meaning no sex scenes and nothing more than a peck on the lips during the party scene and towards the end, if that."

It eased some of her worry, somewhat.

Nervousness aside, he then said, "Now everyone grab a script and we'll go from the top."

* * *

" _Two households, both alike in dignity,  
_ _In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,  
_ _From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,  
_ _Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.  
_ _From forth the fatal loins of these two foes  
_ _A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;  
_ _Whose misadventured piteous overthrows  
_ _Do with their death bury their parents' strife.  
_ _The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,  
_ _And the continuance of their parents' rage,  
_ _Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,  
_ _Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;  
_ _The which if you with patient ears attend,  
_ _What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."_

"That's great, Hanabi-chan. I knew you were the right choice," Kakashi complimented both himself and her, eyes creasing encouragingly as the young girl look to him.

Standing at one side of the stage was a girl no older than seven years old. She was confident, speaking with a clear voice that was set at just the right volume, said with just the right amount of… Sakura wasn't sure what the word was. She wanted to say snobby, but she liked Hanabi's older sister, Hinata, a lot and they were great friends, so she didn't want to think something so horrible about her sister. However, it was the truth. The formality she'd grown up with prepared Hanabi for that moment, allowing her to deliver the prologue to the play perfectly.

Sakura had the feeling she'd be given a much bigger, more challenging part next time.

The two cast as Sampson and Gregory, otherwise known as Kiba and Kankuro, entered the stage once Hanabi stopped speaking. The former seemed to lose his words for a moment, his dark eyes searching through the audience of other characters, until Kankuro nudged him with his elbow, muttering something to him.

"Oh, right. My bad." He scratched the back of his head, grinning wolfishly down at Kakashi. "Want me to go again?"

The older man sighed. Unlike most places, due to the limited time they had to practice and perform, they were told if they had the part more or less on the spot, unless several people were auditioning for the same part. "You auditioned with this scene yesterday, Kiba. How could you have forgotten the lines so quickly?"

Kiba shrugged, arms dropping to his sides. "I don't know. Slept."

Sakura risked a glance at Kakashi. While he was a laid-back man who seemingly didn't care for much, it was obvious to her that he cared for the classics. It made her wonder how quickly he would get annoyed if they were to mess up the performance.

"Just…" He flicked a page in his script. "For now, we'll practice with scripts, just in case you've all slept since yesterday."

How unprofessional, was what Sasuke'd say to that. How annoying, was something else he'd say. However, secretly, Sakura was glad they were allowed to read from their scripts and smiled gratefully when one was handed to her, only to freeze in taking it when her eyes met Uchiha Itachi's.

She swallowed.

Nobody knew much about Uchiha Itachi. They knew he was Sasuke's brother. Knew that he'd starred in a load of adverts while growing up (she was sure there was a baby calendar somewhere he'd been the star of, too), but that was where it stopped. He didn't care much for theatre – at least, that was what Sakura believed. It was Sasuke's thing. Unlike Itachi, who more or less dropped off the face of the earth after becoming a recognisable face on their television screens, Sasuke continued on from that, taking his place and going a step further by joining the theatre.

"Would you like to rehearse quietly while we wait for our scenes, Sakura-chan?" he asked kindly, still holding onto the script.

Green eyes moved to the thick booklet between them, wondering why her hand wasn't responding to her. _Damn it, either let it go or take it_ , her mind screamed at her. _Stop being such a weirdo._

Itachi must have noticed her uncertainty, because he smiled at her and took the seat beside hers, slowly placing the script down onto her lap. "Sasuke tells me you're a good actress," he said. "I look forward to working with you."

"H-He did?" she all but squeaked, surprised. "Sasuke-kun said that?"

His smile warmed. "Yes."

" _That shows thee a weak slave, for the weakest goes to the wall,"_ Sakura vaguely heard Kankuro say proudly, chest somewhat pushed out.

" _Remember you're not re-enacting the movie,"_ Kakashi called out to them all, ignoring the girls as they whined in dismay.

Suddenly seeing Kiba biting his thumb at the guys playing Abram and Balthasar, Sakura covered her mouth, attempting to hide her giggle at how ridiculous it seemed. Like the day before at the audition, he overdid it, throwing in a goofy noise that had many in the audience snickering, though they silenced themselves at Kakashi's warning glare. It wasn't scary just yet, but she wondered how far he would have to be pushed before he did get scary.

By her side, Itachi lifted his own script to look at it and she spotted that his parts were neatly highlighted, much like her own. It had her smiling up at him, some of the nervousness shifting, taken over by a strange happiness. Most people simply highlighted the name of their character, but like her, Itachi had highlighted the entire speech.

Maybe working with him wouldn't be as hard as she'd originally thought?

* * *

Tybalt was as scary as he was in the movie, if Sakura was being totally honest.

The guy playing him was Gaara, his presence alone screaming that he was superior to the rest of them, his expressions carefully contorting with each emotion his character experienced. When he was angry, such as during the fight scenes, it made her heart stop, made her want to shrink back in her seat, because holy crap, she could actually _feel_ his intense hatred.

However, the whole persona shattered as Gaara glared over at Kakashi. "You…" He scowled. "You want me to pretend to stab people with my _finger?"_

* * *

 _Jab, jab, jab._

She was probably laughing harder than she should have been, but…

"The props will be ready at some point," Kakashi assured them all, then ordered, "Romeo, join Benvolio on the stage and be a lovesick puppy."

Itachi was already halfway up the stairs, though did send a fairly amused glance their way (she pretended not to hear the swoons behind her – as the lead, she got to sit right at the front beside Kakashi and the other lead, whereas the others were all behind them). Once he was centre stage, he looked around himself, quickly skimmed through his lines, before nodding once to Benvolio (otherwise known as Rock Lee).

Surprisingly, Lee had been great in the previous part, especially in his fight against Gaara. While they were great friends outside of the theatre, it was hard to believe it when they'd gone at each other so intensely, perhaps even taking the fake fight way too far.

"Good morrow, cousin," Lee greeted loudly, his optimism shining through.

Instead of responding with equal optimism and smiles, Itachi was languid. Sombre, even. "Is the day so young?"

"But new struck nine."

"Ay me, sad hours seem long," he said with a sigh before gesturing in the direction his 'parents' had left in, demanding, "Was that my father that went hence so fast?"

Itachi was an amazing actor, Sakura noticed instantly as she became enraptured in his performance, which she truly was beginning to believe. He seriously did look like a lovesick puppy who was pining after his love, who was depressed that he couldn't be with her. Why had he stopped acting? _There'd better be a damn good reason,_ Sakura inwardly grumbled. She would've paid good money to see him in a play or a movie.

Lee was just as great, sure, but… compared to Itachi's level of acting–

She hid her gasp of surprise, green eyes falling to the script resting on her lap.

Uchiha Itachi was at a higher level than them all, was clearly one of the best at what he did, perhaps even surpassing Sasuke, who'd always played the leads and stole the show. Was that why…? Sakura shook her head. How ridiculous. Surely there was another reason as to why Itachi had given up on acting? Surely it wasn't so his brother was in the spotlight rather than himself? But…

She couldn't recall a time when Sasuke _hadn't_ played the lead. She couldn't remember what his losing face was like, or if he was a sore loser. What she _did_ know was that he was competitive. Massively competitive.

Sakura's gaze returned to Itachi as she saw him in a whole new light, lips parting with her surprise. If he'd given up acting for his younger brother, when he was clearly amazing at it, then…

She couldn't help but smile as their eyes met, though wasn't surprised that he didn't return it. Being the professional that he was, he remained in character, but once his scene was over, he returned to her side, smiling down at her.

* * *

During the first rehearsal, they got through the first four scenes of the play (they would have completed the first act entirely had it not been for others complaining), each of them feeling equally drained as they left, dragging their feet. Kakashi was a hard ass. Plain and simple. Everything had to be _just so_ and if he spotted a mistake during rehearsal, he didn't think twice about pointing it out and then making them start from the beginning of the scene. The second rehearsal consisted of the next ten scenes, with more painstakingly helpful _tips_ on how to improve their acting.

Sakura rarely ever got nervous while performing. She'd had a couple of leads in the past and was used to the pressure, was used to "maybe you could try this" or "well, you see, the character is…" and blah, blah, blah. Performing in front of such a small group that was mostly made up of her friends was nothing to her. Opening night was when the nerves would kick in, possibly the night before when they rehearsed with all the dramatic lights and costumes.

"By opening night, we'll have the music ready to play in the background for the extras to dance to, but until then, we have to improvise," Kakashi told them. "Are you both ready?" They nodded once, watching him for a moment longer as he added, "You just met for the first time and feel an attraction – Sakura, that means-"

"I know what it means," she snapped irritably, cheeks burning.

He smiled, though they couldn't see it due to his mask. "Good. Action."

It was scene five, the infamous party at the Capulet's house where Juliet first met Romeo and they'd just finished eyeing each other from across the stage. After thoroughly reading through the script for what felt like the hundredth time, and making several notes on how to present herself, Sakura liked to believe that she was better prepared than she was yesterday. Instead of focusing on the movie (they'd all secretly been doing that) and trying to act all mystical like the actress had, she came across as graceful, yet outspoken. Strong, yet a hopeless romantic.

Standing to the side of the stage (for Capulet and Tybalt were on the other half, discussing Romeo's presence at the party), she noticed Itachi approaching her confidently, his gaze somewhat similar to the first scene with Rock Lee – a lovesick puppy. And then his hand came to her side, stopping her from moving away as he told her softly, "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this, my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

It took a lot to hide her blush. The way he'd spoken had seemed so real, so believable. Turning her back on him, Sakura glanced over her shoulder, saying, "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much. Which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

" _Am I the only one who thinks everyone is talking a load of shit?"_ she heard Naruto yell from the second row. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him leaning over her chair, his arms folded over the top of it and his eyes narrowed. " _I can't understand any of it."_

" _Shut up, idiot,"_ Ino snarled in return.

It was genuinely that her heart began to pound when Itachi closed the distance between them, circling her until they were face to face, standing just that little bit closer than what was appropriate.

A smirk played on his lips, replying, "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

She tried her best to hide her sudden nerves. Usually, performing in front of the group didn't bother her – they all made a fool of themselves at one point or another. This was different, though. Acting or not, she was about to have her first kiss. She was about to give her first kiss to Uchiha Itachi.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer," she said, unable to mask the breathlessness of her reply.

" _Louder, Sakura."_

Knowing that Juliet was supposed to feel attracted to him, she pushed aside her nerves and watched as he stepped even closer, though they didn't touch, teasing the audience as they bit back their growing smiles. For a split second, she wondered if she was doing it as well as he was, because Itachi truly looked smitten with her for a few seconds, and like he could sense that, he raised his hand slightly, fingers brushing along hers in encouragement before it slipped away.

"O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do: they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

It was wrong to feel weak at the knees, wasn't it? "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

Her heart definitely skipped a beat as he leaned down, their difference in height giving her a few extra seconds to try and collect herself, but all attempts were wasted as his lips grew closer, as she heard the others murmuring to one another until Kakashi told them to shut up.

"Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purg'd."

Just as his lips brushed to hers, Sakura's hand shot between them, almost sticking her fingers up his nose in her rushed attempt to stop the kiss.

"Sorry," she said apologetically, glancing over to Kakashi. "It just feels…"

Fortunately, the man seemed to understand. "Forget the movie version, Sakura," he told her and stood, climbing the stairs so that he was on stage with them. "Your kiss with Itachi-kun doesn't need to be as… passionate. You're still only a kid."

She almost argued that she wasn't a kid, that she was a woman, but wisely held her tongue. Instead, she nodded in thanks, then smiled up at Itachi apologetically, taking her hand off his mouth. "I'm sorry."

"You have every right to be nervous," he assured her.

True, she supposed.

Noticing her continued nerves, Kakashi offered, "How about this? Itachi-kun, when you go to kiss Sakura the first time, to give the impression that it's passionate, place your hands on the sides of her head, shielding the kiss from view. You don't even have to kiss, though you obviously can't do that for every kiss in the play."

That sounded so much better. Grinning up at him, she waited for his response, and couldn't help but feel a wave of relief as he nodded, asking, "For the second, while it is something those in theatre try to avoid, I could turn one of our backs to the audience. Sakura-chan could then play up that she is being kissed."

She instantly thought of a romance movie she'd watched recently, where the girl's arms had limply hung by her sides, the passion of the kiss leaving her unable to respond. "That could work."

"Just make sure to build the tension," Kakashi reminded them, going back down the stairs. "And don't be afraid to use the stage. The extras will be staying near the back, so that they don't get in your way or steal the spotlight."

Nodding, she turned back to Itachi.

It had to get easier this way.

* * *

It didn't.

It'd been a whole week now and they were nearing the end of the play. The final scene had to be the real deal. It had to be a real kiss. There was no way around it.

Sitting back in her seat and ignoring the man by her side, her knee bobbed up and down, nails finding their way to her teeth as she nibbled on them. Kakashi sent her a warning glare to stop, but she didn't. Not when the nerves were making her stomach churn, not when the human sized moths in her belly were making it impossible to eat anything. Gods, she was going to kiss Sasuke's hot older brother, Uchiha Itachi.

On stage, Itachi was clutching a staggering Naruto, who'd just been ruthlessly stabbed by Gaara (who seemed to enjoy stabbing him a little _too_ much, in her honest opinion), before the blond shoved him away, features twisted in pain.

"I am hurt," he yelled at them. Dramatically coughing and pretending to cough up blood, he took another step towards the edge of the stage, blue eyes heavy as they looked out at the crowd. "A plague a'both houses! I am sped. Is he gone and hath nothing?"

Lee was frowning, showing his concern as he stared at Naruto's back. "What, are thou hurt?"

Pressing a hand to his side, the blond groaned melodramatically and swayed. "Tis a scratch! Tis a scratch. It might look like a gaping hole, but it's just a scratch. Honestly."

By her side, Kakashi rubbed his aching temple, muttering under his breath, "Don't screw with the classics, Naruto."

A single glance behind herself told Sakura the others found Naruto highly amusing, many of them smirking at one another mischievously. Crap. Were they intentionally going to get on Kakashi's nerves? When she was the one who had to sit next to him? She bit her lip, eyes going back to Itachi. Maybe she could get him to switch seats with her. He'd been doing an awful lot to help her out lately, from helping her rehearse and memorise her lines, to walking her to her mother's car when rehearsals finished late or backing her up with her suggestions to Kakashi, even improvising with her if she forgot something.

It hurt to admit it, but Sakura couldn't see Sasuke treating her so kindly. He would have gotten annoyed. Would've demanded her to grow up and stop dragging him down. Sure, for the first few tries, he'd be patient, he'd wait it out. But some scenes, she and Itachi had to go over them at least ten or eleven times, from start to finish. Sasuke wouldn't do that for her. Not like Itachi was.

The thought filled her heart with a strange emotion.

* * *

They were screwing with him. Badly.

Every rehearsal, Sakura witnessed Kakashi's patience dwindling. She witnessed him going through breathing exercises to try and remain calm, his grip rhythmically tightening on his script and notes.

First, it'd been Mercutio's death, with Naruto jokingly and over-dramatically dying on the edge of the stage, having been warned many times not to throw himself off it to add to the drama (he'd suggested it every time they went over the scene). Sure, it'd look good on the night, as that area would be in total darkness and it could signify him being gone forever, with Romeo joining him in the darkness in order to avenge him, but… It was only pissing Kakashi off.

Then, Juliet's nurse (Tenten), made overexaggerated gestures about the marriage between her and Romeo. Sexing it up, in simpler terms. Tenten was one of the older kids (fifteen, Sakura believed), so clearly knew more about it than she did, but what she _did_ know was that the things she implied had the other older kids either snickering or blushing.

And now…

"Romeo murdered my cousin, my beloved, protective cousin," Ino yelled angrily at him, but then made many snicker when she suddenly added much more calmly, "But that's fine." Beside her, she noticed Kakashi placing his head in his hands. Naruto grinned brightly from his seat. "You win some, you lose some."

Prince, who was played by Haku, didn't falter for a second, his expression remaining in character as he tried to save the scene before Kakashi exploded. "Benvolio, who began this bloody fray?"

Catching on, Lee left the extras who were posing at officers and approached the Capulet and Montague patriarchs and matriarchs, frowning. "Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo's hand did slay. Romeo, that spoke him fair, bid him bethink how nice the quarrel was, and urg'd withal your high displeasure; all this, uttered, with gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly bow'd, could not take truce with the unruly spleen of Tybalt deaf to peace, but that he tilts with piercing steel at bold Mercutio's breast-"

Before he could continue the long winded speech (which, unsurprisingly, didn't seem like hard work to him – Lee actually seemed to enjoy it since he got to act out what he was saying without looking weird), he was interrupted when he took a breath.

"He shall die," Ino's voice boomed around the theatre hall. "Romeo shall-" She cut herself off and clutched her chest dramatically. "Oh, but he's so pretty. My daughter is such a lucky girl." Anger took over her features once more and she stomped her foot. "Off with his head!"

"Ino, you are not Queen Victoria-"

"Who the hell is that?" she demanded angrily. "I was being the Queen of Hearts."

There were several sighs of annoyance and disbelieving expressions.

"Either way," Kakashi drawled, "Juliet's mother doesn't know about the relationship with Romeo. It's forbidden and secret, remember."

"I was breaking the fourth wall."

"Well, how about you leave the fourth wall alone?"

"You're so boring!"

* * *

The lights were beaming down on them and Sakura found herself feeling even hotter than usual, repeatedly dabbing her brow every time she came off stage, gulping down bottles of water in preparation for her insanely long speeches. No, she wasn't complaining. It was an honour to play Juliet and she felt so beautiful in her costumes – Kakashi's friend (Rin, Sakura believed her name to be) had done a spectacular job on them).

Like she'd said previously, her nerves always showed on the opening night.

Feigning death, Sakura listened to the lengthy speech Itachi made. Not once had he faltered that night, not even when they noticed Sasuke sitting in the audience, clearly sulking about losing his part in the play. If anything, it seemed to strengthen their mutual decision to do their best, neither wanting to let Sasuke down.

Her heart was pounding as she felt Itachi pick her up, but she made sure to stay limp in his hold, arms useless as he tried to wrap them around him, showing a desperation to once more feel the embraces they'd shared throughout the play. Sakura could hear people in the audience sniffling when he added more emotion to his words, when he allowed his eyes to water and momentarily lowered his head to her neck, body shaking.

Gods, he was an amazing actor.

And as much as she didn't want to think it…

He was so much better than Sasuke.

She felt him pull back, could feel his breath on her lips. She wanted to open her eyes, to look at him and see what he looked like so close, as he was no doubt even more beautiful, but refrained.

It was time.

Her first kiss. During rehearsals, he'd pretended to kiss her, knowing how unsure and uncomfortable she was. Now, they were going to have to kiss. There was no way around it.

Hand hidden from the view of the audience, he gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Thus, with a kiss, I die," Itachi murmured.

Sakura found herself holding her breath when he kissed her softly, with an almost tender brush of his lips and she was so angry that she had to hold herself back from responding. She was supposed to be dead, after all. Well, seemingly dead.

Her first kiss.

With the brother of the boy she'd once had a crush on.

Fortunately, Itachi lowering her back to her bed gave her a few seconds to collect herself, his long hair hiding her face from view. She could feel the blush on her cheeks, tried to calm her breathing.

 _Her first kiss._

It took everything to focus on those surrounding her, to focus on the shift in her death bed to know when Itachi had finished his poison and died beside her. It was easier when the others began to speak and counting in her head, going over the lines, she awoke with a stretch, eyes going to the two friars.

"O comfortable Friar, where is my lord? I do remember well where I should be; and there I am. Where is my Romeo?" It felt stupid saying it, as he was right next to her, but Sakura kept up the act.

"I hear some noise, lady," Neji told her. "Come from that nest of death, contagion and unnatural sleep. A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents. Come, come away. Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead." She made sure to look distraught, a heartbroken sob leaving her as she gazed down at Itachi's lax features, leaning over him, even giving him a shake for good measure. "And Paris too. Come, I'll dispose of thee among a sisterhood of holy nuns. Stay not to question, for the Watch is coming. Come go, good Juliet, I dare no longer stay."

Green eyes never left Itachi's face and Sakura felt _so_ proud of herself when tears filled her eyes. It took a few seconds longer than she'd hoped, but they fell, followed by another wail of loss. When she noticed that Neji had left the stage, she took that as her cue to continue.

"Go get thee hence, for I will not away." Taking one of Itachi's hands, she held it tightly in both of hers, squeezing and feeling oddly comforted at the faintest of pressure she felt in return. "What's here?" She moved one of her hands, opening his enclosed fist and holding up a small bottle. "A cup clos'd in my true love's hand? Poison I see hath been his timeless end. O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after?"

The nerves came back at full force as Sakura shifted over him, throwing the small bottle across the stage in a show of anger, before that anger crumpled into despair, showing her heartbreak at being left alone.

"I will kiss thy lips, haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make me die with a restorative."

Her hand came to his face, not daring to hesitate as she gently ran her fingers over his relaxed features, taking perhaps a few moments too long to trace them all. It must have looked convincing, though, because she could hear her mother crying in the audience. Her own tears didn't stop as she lowered her face to his, even as she brushed their noses together like she'd seen in movies and while his lips were shielded by her face, she felt him breathe out through his mouth, though when she looked back to his lips, they were closed again.

Was it wrong that she was excited to kiss him?

Closing her eyes, Sakura gently pressed her lips against his, too nervous to add too much pressure, but then, more than likely surprising Itachi, when she sat back and was prepared to speak her line, she once more leaned down to kiss him a final time after looking out at the audience in devastation.

From backstage, she heard one of the extras yell, "Lead, boy, which way?"

She knew that was her cue to wrap it up. Sitting up, she looked around, hand falling to Itachi's side only for her to pause, green eyes going wide as she spotted the weapon.

"Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger." She picked it up, holding it in front of her face as she admired the blade. "This is thy sheath."

Many in the audience gasped as she shoved it into her chest, the dagger seemingly sinking into her sink when in fact it simply pushed the fake blade into the handle, giving the impression that it was in fact stabbing her and when she yanked it out, fake blood was coating it, along with her dress.

"There rust and let me die."

Making a show of rolling her eyes to the back of her head, she fell against Itachi, inwardly grimacing and apologising when she heard his breath leave him harshly at her sudden weight. Of course, she'd forgotten to ease herself down, instead going for the drama by dropping dead. It was difficult focusing on the others going through their final lines, especially when she was on top of Itachi, doing her best not to crush him beneath her weight. She could feel his breath on her neck and ear, could feel the steady beating of his heart and in response, her own began to pound once more.

How was it possible to grow feelings for someone in the space of a few short weeks?

But then she heard Haku's final speech, his words causing her nerves to grow again. "A glooming peace this morning with it brings, the sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence to have more talk of these sad things; some shall be pardon'd, and some punished: for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

And then the crowd erupted, but she could no longer hear them, not as the curtain was drawn and she was allowed to sit up, smiling shyly at Itachi as he also sat up, returning her smile warmly.

"Well done, Sakura-chan," he told her quietly. "You were extraordinary."

He was…

"So were you." It was hard meeting his eye. They were so close, fingers brushing.

He was her Romeo.

* * *

There was a party to celebrate the successful show and they were all supposed to get changed into their after party outfits, but Sakura found herself standing outside of Itachi's changing room, still wearing her final costume, which was covered in fake blood. As he was so much older than the rest of them, Kakashi had given him his own room (it was actually an office, but he didn't seem to mind), whereas the rest of them had to share.

It reminded her of the age difference. The five-year age gap. She was thirteen, he was eighteen. Was it okay for her to… Well, have a crush on him? Was it okay for her stomach to be in knots at just the thought of seeing him? Was it okay for her heart to skip beats whenever he looked at her? His kindness throughout everything, even when she was stressed about giving her first kiss to him, had been heart-warming. If he'd ever felt annoyed with her childishness, he never said anything. He was so patient.

There was every chance it was just a crush. Every chance he saw her as just a child. But… What was she supposed to do? Ignore her heart? Even if he rejected her, she had to tell him of her feelings. There was no telling if she'd ever see him again.

With that in mind, Sakura quickly and firmly knocked on the door, smiling when it opened a couple of seconds later. Itachi was already changed, clothing smart and casual for the after party, which had already started. All their family and friends were there, waiting for their arrival so that they could congratulate them.

"Sakura-chan," he greeted, surprised. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you."

Nodding, Itachi pushed his door further open and stepped to the side, allowing her entry, but she noticed that he didn't shut the door even as he followed her into the makeshift dressing room. His costumes were hanging neatly on a rail to the left of the room, the final costume covered in drops of blood from her dagger.

He leaned back against the desk, hands coming to rest on the ends of it as his outstretched legs crossed at the ankles. It was a relaxed stance, she noticed. Peaceful, even. "What would you like to discuss?"

Nerves got the best of her. "That was a good show tonight, wasn't it?"

Dark eyes softened and he nodded. "It was. I enjoyed working with you, Sakura-chan." Smirking slightly, he admitted, "I wasn't thrilled when Mother insisted I take Sasuke's place, as I had wanted to spend the summer relaxing before going to college in the fall, but I am glad she did. I had more fun than I originally thought I would."

She did _not_ swoon or feel weak at the knees. Honestly, she didn't. "You didn't want to…?"

When she trailed off, he sighed and shook his head, almost apologetic. "It has been many years since I did anything remotely related to acting, as it's not what I want to do with my life, therefore, I found it pointless to continue." His words sounded well thought out, more rehearsed than the lines they'd spoken only ten minutes ago. "But I realised there would be many people who would be disappointed with Sasuke's absence, and I didn't want it to possibly affect any chance of getting future parts he wants."

That was still a kind thing to do, she supposed. He'd given up his entire summer for the sake of Sasuke's reputation, not wanting him to appear as unreliable. Sure, appendicitis was serious and it couldn't be helped, but he'd still backed out just as they were starting rehearsals. It wouldn't look good.

"So, what are you really here to discuss?" he asked with a chuckle. "It can't possibly be my life story – that would bore you to tears."

"No, it wouldn't," she argued quickly. Too quickly. Eyes widening, Sakura sucked in a sharp breath, calling herself all kinds of names in her mind. "I've had a lot of fun getting to know you."

His earlier smile returned.

"Actually, I…" She shifted and dropped her gaze to the ground, rubbing her arm restlessly. There was no hiding the blush on her cheeks, but maybe, just maybe, it would look endearing. "I like you, Itachi-san."

"Sakura-chan."

Nervous green eyes glanced up at the dark set opposite her. They softened at the sight of her anxiety and Itachi smiled warmly at her. "Y-Yes?"

He approached her and reached out, ruffling her hair. It made her both angry and upset, as it meant he wasn't taking her seriously. It meant he only saw her as a kid. She'd been right about the age difference being a problem.

"How about, for now, we work on a friendship?" he suggested softly. Hesitantly, she looked up at him, view somewhat obscured by the hand still resting on her head. "I believe it was once said that every relationship must have a strong foundation. Don't you agree?"

It… wasn't an outright rejection. Sakura smiled, though hid how brightly she wanted to grin up at him. While he was saying no to a romantic relationship _now_ (no doubt because of the age gap), Itachi was saying he wanted to build a friendship that could potentially benefit a romantic relationship in the future.

And that made her feel even happier than him saying 'yes'.

* * *

 **A/N - As you can tell, I struggled a little with this one. It was so hard not to write it out as a script and I actually reread _Romeo and Juliet._ I wanted to do a something different to the usual warring clans thing, too. Oh and I know that Tenten and some of the other characters don't actually have surnames, so I used either their voice actor's name, or something to do with their character.**

 **Also, I hope you all noticed something about Sakura, but if not: like Romeo, she's fickle, don't you think? One moment he loved Rosaline, just as Sakura loved Sasuke and then upon meeting Juliet, he instantly fell for her, just as Sakura more or less instantly fell for Itachi.**

 **I was really unsure about the age difference and several times, I was going to change it, but I realised it fit well with Sakura's childish personality and fickle heart.**

 **Anyways, I think I'm gonna wrap it up here before I start rambling again.**


End file.
